Pirate fiction?

There are actually some good history/reference books about pirating throughout history. I read a a few of them once in preparation for a pirate novel that I swear I actually will write someday. :)

Alas, that was years ago and I can't remember many of the titles off the top of my head. "Under the Black Flag" was one. Robert Louis Stevenson (of Treasure Island fame) wrote another one which has the virtue of being much more contemporaneous to the actual pirate era in the Carribbean, but the vice of having been written to no particular standard of scholorship or editorial oversight. So take that one with a grain of salt. I selectged the pirate books I ended up reading based largely on the user reviews on Amazon.com, and I don't feel that I was led astray.

As well, if you go poking around on Amazon, you can find some decent reference books on sailing ships of the era, et cetera, which should help you out with that type of realism.

Lovers of historical fiction tend to swear by the Master and Commander series as being first-rate when it comes to descriptions of battles and ship-to-ship tactics.

There are some decent illustrated books from Osprey

Any of the Napoleonic Naval writers will give you ideas, and some, such as Alexander Kent, start out in the American Revolution. Dudley Pope's Ramage series has more of a pulp adventure feel, and he also wrote a few about Golden Age buccaneering.

Rafael Sabatini is an essential, both the books and the films derived from them. The Adventures of Captain Blood is the quintessential pirate move.

Seconding Sabatini, also recommending The Sea-Hawk (and Scaramouche is also fine in book and 1950s movie form, although it's swashbuckling, not pirates.

In the fantasy area, read Tim O'Brien's On Stranger Tides and China Mieville's The Scar.

Being half-North Carolinian, I find a lot of the Outer Banks piracy more interesting--and certainly more desperate--than the Caribbean or the Barbary corsairs. If you look them up, look up not just Blackbeard (Edward Teach), but also Calico Jack Rackham (great name!) and Anne Bonney/Mary Read, as well as Stede Bonnet, who was probably the least expected pirate ever.

As far as sailor stories, it's a kid's book, but The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle, by Avi, is pretty unsentimental and factual, from memory--so I'd recommend that as well.

And yes, there is an Idiot's Guide to Pirates, if you're really, really desperate!

Note that you really only have to read one Sabatini book.

As part of my research for that gonna-write-it-someday pirate book, I read both _The Sea Hawk_ and _Captain Blood_.

They're the same story. I mean sure, the names and the places are changed, but deep down it's the same story in exactly the same way that Dan Brown's _Demons and Angels_ is exactly the same as _DaVinci Code_.

Still, Sabatini is worth a read. For my money, go with _The Sea Hawk_; it's set in the more interesting locales, ones we don't typically consider when pondering pirate fiction.

Hmmmm, this sounds suspiciously like my plot...have you been spying on me?

Anyways as for your question, i don't know about any books but i can recommend some good movies that can help you get a feel for the setting and stuff.

Cut throat Island: Classic pirate/swash buckling stuff. Really mean people looking for burried treasure.

Master and Commander: Not actualy a pirate story but good for sailing. It's about a british war-ship in the napoleonic wars.

Horatio Hornblower: Again not much of pirates but good materials for that general era and setting. It follows the adventures of a young officer in the british navy.

sabatini wrote lots of other books not about pirates. i've liked every one that i've managed to find and read. the romantic prince is great as is st. martin's summer. his action writing ability was really great.

I just picked up Bloody Jack by L.A. Meyer It was good and being written from a 12 year old's point of view, things are often explained as the narrator learns them. So it's educational too!

Go to your local library, use their catalog system on the computer if they have one, and type in "pirates" for the subject. Also, look in newspapers. Because of the recent issues with pirates in Somalia, newspapers have been running two or three page articles on the general history of pirates. That can give you some specific names to look up. Search the internet for "pirate history" blackbeard" "Captain Kidd" "Mary Read" and other pirate names. Go to a book store and look under the general World History section. There are all kinds of books there. Some about specific pirates, some about pirats from certain eras or areas. Just kind of browse and see what you can find.

I've been doing these things a lot lately and picked up several books and news articles and I'm using them to research my pirate story.

I just realized I replied to this thread a while ago...so I just added my info to my previous reply.