Saltblood: An epic historical fiction debut inspired by real life female pirates
Karen (retired Bookseller); Salt Blood is a captivating historical novel of the extraodinary true life of Mary Read, told from her own perspective.
Born in London 1685, she was given the identity of her dead brother named Mark. The story follows Mary's astonishing life, lived as a boy, man, woman and finally Pirate. It was her time in the British Navy, disguised as a man, that Mary discovered a deep affection and love of the sea and ships. Many years later she joined a pirate ship and began roaming the West India Seas during the height of the "Golden Age of Piracy".
Anne Bonny, another famous woman pirate and John Rackham, also know as the famous pirate Calico Jack, feature along with many other fascinating characters.
The amazing and vivid descriptions of places, events, ships and the sea kept me hooked. along with the pacey excitment, there are times of real reflection about idenity and society, a remarkable life & story.
'A ravishing picaresque told with fireworks, finesse and gusto' PAUL LYNCH, author of Prophet Song 'A gripping tale of one woman's extraordinary adventures. Saltblood is a triumph of the imagination' ELODIE HARPER, author of 'The Wolf Den' trilogy
In a rented room outside Plymouth in 1685, a daughter is born as her half-brother is dying. Her mother makes a decision: Mary will become Mark, and Ma will continue to collect his inheritance money. Mary's dual existence will take her to a grand house where she'll serve a French mistress; to the navy where she'll learn who to trust, and how to navigate by the stars; to the army and the battlegrounds of Flanders, following her one true friend; and finding love among the bloodshed and mud. But none of this will stop her yearning for the sea. Drawn back to the water, Mary must reinvent herself yet again, for a woman aboard a ship is a dangerous thing. This time Mary will become something more dangerous than a woman. She will become a pirate.
Breathing life into the Golden Age of Piracy, Saltblood is a wild adventure, a treasure trove, weaving an intoxicating tale of gender and survival, passion and loss, journeys and transformation, through the story of Mary Read, one of history's most remarkable figures.
'A wonderful tale and so exquisitely told.. Master and Commander meets Thelma and Louise' JAMES OSWALD, author of the 'Inspector McLean' series
Fiction: general and literary, Historical fiction, Adventure fiction
Paperback
Francesca De Tores
368 pages
H: 234mm W: 153mm