I think this is probably the first time I’ve actually read a book about fictional and real historical facts about pirates. Saying that, I thoroughly enjoyed this read!

Loads to take in and note, it wasn’t long before I broke out my highlighter and sticky notes. I saw this more as research than a leisure read.

While I won’t be pulling these historical facts and injecting them into my books, I’ll be taking what I’ve learnt and creating similar versions and twists, specifically the myths!

A chapter that particularly interrested me in this book was about the role women played in the piracy community. The myths around women being bad luck, and some accounts of women actually being a welcome presence due to their maternal nature. How some were seen as sources of conflict among men and distractions. The Pirate Code protects women from abuse yet sadly not all pirates abided by these laws.

Which leads me on to the other point of interest for me: The Pirate Code and Conduct.

Not all pirates were bad, despite assumptions! Some were respectful, disciplined and fair, they didn’t all just kill on sight, in fact they did their best to avoid killing where possible. Some were cruel. Punishments were very harsh for those who committed crimes against the code. Not even pirate captains were safe from scrutiny, the crew’s wellbeing and morale solely depended on how well a captain treated them and conducted their ship. Rarely was it possible for captains to get away with abusing their power – the crew had more power than one might think!

I would definitely reccommend this book for anyone interested in pirates, it’s easy to understand with a plethora of historical accounts, images and examples.

My rating: 5 stars