The Dilemma of Captain Blood and Other Stories

The drama "The Robbers" by Schiller, written at the end of the 18th century, spawned a whole layer of literature about noble heroes who break the law. In the 19th century, Walter Scott wrote the "Robber" novel "Rob Roy." Alexandre Dumas and Howard Pyle described the adventures of Robin Hood, while Alexander Pushkin introduced his readers to "Dubrovsky." At the beginning of the 20th century, Europeans were captivated by the exploits of the fictional elusive thief Arsène Lupin, created by Maurice Leblanc. Rafael Sabatini's novel "The Odyssey of Captain Blood," published in 1922, fit perfectly into this series of works. The image of pirate Peter Blood, created by Sabatini, was endowed with all the qualities of a superhero. He is tall, slender, strong, and agile, possesses a lively mind, inventiveness, and rich imagination. Blood never loses his composure and adheres to a peculiar code of honor. He engages in piracy not for profit: he is driven by an insatiable thirst for adventure. It is not surprising that it was the novel about the adventures of such a character that brought Rafael Sabatini European fame.

Sabatini took to writing early, at the age of twenty, and although the stories of the young writer were eagerly published in English magazines, literature remained more of a pastime for Rafael for about ten years than the main focus of his life. The future writer's parents, professional opera singers, urged the young man to pursue commerce, rightly believing that knowledge of languages would help him in this endeavor. Rafael was fluent in five languages: Italian was his native tongue, and he learned English by conversing with his maternal grandmother. She lived near Liverpool and cared for her young grandson for several years while his parents toured Europe giving concerts. When Rafael attended a Catholic school in Porto, where his father and mother opened a singing school, he also learned Portuguese. Later, he mastered French and German, as the family lived abroad for long periods. However, when Rafael's first book was published in 1904, he decided to fully devote himself to literature. From that point on, Sabatini consistently published a novel or story every year. However, success did not come immediately: the captivating tales of Captain Blood gained fame when the writer was already almost fifty years old.

Captain Blood first appeared in stories united under the common title "The Shore Brotherhood." This cycle began to be published in the magazine "Premier" in December 1921. Sabatini wrote new texts about Blood, adapted old ones, and ultimately combined all these works. Later, two more of his novels about the beloved character were released: "The Chronicle of Captain Blood" and "The Fortunes of Captain Blood." All nine stories, along with other works by the writer, are presented in this book.