A General History of the Pyrates, Daniel Defoe
A General History of the Pyrates, Daniel Defoe
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A General History of the Pyrates
From Their First Rise and Settlement in the Island of Providence, to the Present Time

Author: Daniel Defoe

Narrator: John Lee

Unabridged: 12 hr 10 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 11/15/2016


Synopsis

“I presume we need make no Apology for giving the Name of a History to the following Sheets, though they contain nothing but the Actions of a Parcel of Robbers.” —from the bookThis work was published in 1724 under the pseudonym Captain Charles Johnson by an unknown British author, usually assumed to be Daniel DeFoe. This work is the prime source for the biographies of many well-known pirates of that era and shaped the popular notions about pirates of the day. Included are Blackbeard, Black Bart, Jolly Roger, Anne Bonny (a.k.a. Anne Bonn), Edward Teach, Henry Avery, Mary Read, and many more.

About Daniel Defoe

Daniel Defoe (1660–1731) is an English novelist, pamphleteer, and journalist, whose most famous work is Robinson Crusoe. Along with Samuel Richardson, Defoe is considered the founder of the English novel. Defoe studied at Charles Morton's Academy in London, then delved into politics and trade, for which he traveled extensively throughout Europe. In the early 1680s, Defoe was a commission merchant in Cornhill but went bankrupt in 1691. In 1684 he married Mary Tuffley, with whom he had two sons and five daughters. In 1702 Defoe wrote his famous pamphlet The Shortest Way With Dissenters, in which he mimicked the extreme attitudes of High Anglican Tories and pretended to argue for the extermination of all Dissenters. Defoe was arrested and pilloried for it. When the Tories fell from power Defoe continued to carry out intelligence work for the Whig government. In his own days, Defoe was regarded as an unscrupulous, diabolical journalist. Defoe was one of the first to write stories about believable characters in realistic situations using simple prose. He achieved literary immortality when in 1719 he published Robinson Crusoe, which was based partly on the memoirs of voyagers and castaways, such as Alexander Selkirk. During his remaining years, Defoe concentrated on books rather than pamphlets. Among his works are Moll Flanders, A Journal of the Plague Year, and Captain Jack. His last great work of fiction, Roxana, appeared in 1724. By the 1720s Defoe had ceased to be politically controversial in his writings, and he produced several historical works, a guide book, and The Great Law of Subordination Considered, an examination of the treatment of servants. Phenomenally industrious, Defoe produced in his last years works involving the supernatural: The Political History of the Devil and An Essay on the History and Reality of Apparitions. He died on April 26, 1731, at his lodgings in Ropemaker's Alley, Moorfields.

About John Lee

John Lee has performed at the Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles and the Globe Theatre in San Diego. He is the author of the plays Blood and Milk, Hitler’s Head, Passchendaele, Clean Souls, and Frankincense.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Tal on January 05, 2015

A book written by a sea captain about pirates and other sea captains during the time when pirates reigned. This book is essential for anyone who has more than a passing interest in the history of pirates. Johnson by no means appraises the deeds of these outlaws. As a sea captain himself, he is entir......more

Goodreads review by Gwynplaine26th on November 07, 2021

È divertente come questo libro sia uscito nel 1724 sotto uno pseudonimo e solo nel 1932 se ne è accertata la paternità reale attribuendola allo stranoto Daniel Defoe. Non ci sono avventure di corsari alla Salgari o alla Stevenson, quanto piuttosto documenti e osservazioni sui dominatori dei mari che......more

Goodreads review by Sara on August 19, 2018

Muito têm -se fantasiado sobre a vida dos piratas. E todo isso deve-se a indústria cinematográfica. Este livro mostra quem foram os verdadeiros piratas das Craíbas. Não foram criaturas com poderes fora do comum. Nem eram nenhuns cavalheiros. Alguns nem tem vidas tão extraordinárias. Os que mais se d......more

Goodreads review by Ken on May 18, 2018

Excellent journalism. Please be advised this is original source material, written in 1724. Apparently they only used periods at the end of paragraphs then, the longest run-on sentences you have ever seen. Ascribed to Captain Charles Johnson but some old scholarship has decided it was really Daniel D......more

Goodreads review by paola on August 19, 2016

almeno 4 stelle andrebbero a Defoe, qui non tanto romanziere ma comunque ottimo narratore capace di trasformare resoconti di processi e racconti di testimoni oculari rielaborandole in maniera assolutamente interessante, ma il voto ridotto si deve al fatto che nell'edizione italiana - che a quel che......more


Quotes

“This collection of brief biographies reads like a Who’s Who? of piracy…The book that launched a thousand pirate stories…A must-read for armchair swashbucklers.” Amazon.com, editorial review

“Published in 1724, Defoe’s chronicle of the scourges of the sea was a smashing success, finding a wide audience eager for tales of those cutthroat sailors who flew the skull and crossbones.” Library Journal