Captain Blood :. his odyssey,. by Rafael Sabatini.
Rafael Sabatini (1875-1950)
Category
Books
Date
1925
Materials
Place of origin
London
Collection
Quarry Bank, Cheshire
NT 3216049
Caption
Loosely based on a true story, Captain Blood centres on a physician, Dr Peter Blood, who inadvertently becomes embroiled in the Monmouth rebellion against King James I. By tending the wounded he is committing an act of treason and is sentenced to execution by the infamous Judge Jefferies. The sentence is later changed to transportation to the Caribbean where the convicted rebels including Blood are to be sold into slavery to the cold-hearted and vain Colonel Bishop. After a brief spell as a slave, Blood is able to use his medical skills to gain the sympathy and support of parts of the ruling class including Colonel Bishop’s niece Arabella. Blood and a number of fellow slaves escape during a Spanish raid. They steal a ship and embark on a series of escapades as feared and ruthless pirates targeting the Spanish fleet. After heroically saving the Island of Jamaica from French invasion, Blood is granted pardon by the new King William III, installed as the Governor of the Island in place of his nemesis, Colonel Bishop, and reunited with Arabella. Captain Blood was enormously popular when published and spawned an entire series of pirate stories featuring the hero. Adventure fiction had a universal appeal and two years after its publication, a silent film was made of the book. This was remade with sound in 1935 and starred Errol Flynn as Captain Blood and Olivia de Havilland as Arabella Bishop.
Summary
Bibliographic description
288 p. ;. 8vo.,. 20 cm. Provenance: Blue oval rubber stamp on inside front cover and titlepage: `Styal Village Club Library'. In pencil on half-title: `[QBM Resource Bank] 2.87'. Old NT inventory number at rear: `830'. Binding: Publisher's case, covered in red cloth, with black lettering on spine. Binding loose. Dirty.
Makers and roles
Rafael Sabatini (1875-1950)