Captain in Calico
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5.0 • 3 Ratings
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- $11.99
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
“Piracy’s tried-and-true hallmarks—treasure, treachery, intermittent romance and high-seas mutiny” from the Scottish author of the Flashman Papers series (The Wall Street Journal).
George MacDonald Fraser was famed for his legendary series, featuring the incorrigible knave Harry Flashman. In the colorful standalone novel Captain in Calico, a never-before-published literary find, Fraser introduces another real-life anti-hero: Captain John Rackham, called “Calico Jack,” an illustrious eighteenth-century pirate who marauded the Caribbean seas.
On a tranquil evening in the Bahamas, Calico Jack, long wanted on counts of piracy, makes a surprise appearance at the Governor’s residence and asks for a pardon. A deal is brokered after Jack reveals the motive for turning himself in: love. When he last set sail from the Bahamas two years ago, Jack left behind a beautiful fiancée, and he hopes to win her back. But while Jack was off pirating, his beloved has become betrothed to a new man—the governor himself. It doesn’t take long for this truth to come to light, and after embarking on a new romance with famous Irish pirate Anne Bonney, Jack is quickly transformed back into a thieving captain in calico.
With his trademark picaresque style, Fraser draws readers into the wild west of the British empire, where black sails prowl the waters and redemption can be found in the most unexpected places.
“[An] energetic tale of piracy and peril . . . Suspenseful.” —Publishers Weekly
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Set in the early 18th century, this energetic tale of piracy and peril, a previously unpublished early novel by the late author of the Flashman series, opens as real-life pirate captain and outlaw John "Calico Jack" Rackham makes a midnight visit to real-life Bahamas governor Woodes Rogers. Rackham wants a King's pardon in order to reclaim his former fianc e, Kate Sampson, who he has learned remains unmarried. The governor offers the amnesty Rackham seeks in exchange for the pirate's gold, but moments after the pardon is granted, Rackham discovers that Kate is Rogers's fianc e. An enraged Rackham later meets unconventional Anne Bonney, also a historical figure, who proposes that they raid one of Rogers's treasure-filled ships. Rackham is too seduced by thoughts of revenge, riches, and Anne's own charms to refuse. Fans expecting Flashman's roguish wit and flamboyance will be disappointed, but the book satisfies as a suspenseful though traditional nautical thriller and a glimpse into Fraser's development as a writer.
