An excellent pirate story for all fans of pirate fiction. There's a lot of swashbuckling that kept me entertained throughout. I couldn't put this book down!

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the opportunity to preview this book. I enjoyed it.

This book was amazing! Blackbeard has given a romanticized view of pirates for many generations. But now, get to know him on a deeper level. From the start of his career to the sad ending of a fascinating life, this book will capture your interest from the start and keep you entranced throughout!

The life of Edward Teach (otherwise written as Thatch, or in the book, Thache) does not disappoint. Grab the book today!

Blackbeard: The Birth Of America – Samuel Marquis

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Summary:
Revisiting the legend that is Edward Thache, better known as Blackbeard, [elsewhere known as “Edward Teach”, but not referred to as such in this novel], the book seeks to clarify the myths and “fake news” that the powers of the time propagated about him. The novel takes the viewpoint that Blackbeard was in fact the original American patriot, a worthy forerunner of Franklin, Revere and Washington.

Main Characters:
Blackbeard: Son of a wealthy Jamaican planter, possessed of magnetic leadership qualities, charismatic and intelligent, he is the larger than life figure we have all read about in every schoolboy pirate novel. As described in the novel, he is more than the bloodthirsty murderer of legend.

Alexander Spotswood: Blackbeard’s eventual nemesis, he is the arrogant, grasping and greedy governor of Virginia, almost universally disliked, yet extremely astute politically.

Stede Bonnet: A landowner sent into despair by grief following the death of his first-born son, he turns pirate, but whose career runs almost totally the reverse when compared to Blackbeard’s. Hugely unpopular with his crew, no natural sea-faring abilities, and completely unfit for the life of a sea-rover.

Caesar: A black slave whom Blackbeard liberates, and who becomes one of the most trusted of Blackbeard’s comrades. He is not the “Black Caesar” of legend, but is unquestionably loyal to Thache, and seeks to learn as much as possible about the sea and life from his idol.

Minor Characters:
Margaret of Marcus Hook: The Swedish love of Blackbeard’s life. Her character is a bit of a mystery historically, but she is described as loving and loyal, and fearful of the fate that awaits her lover.

Lieutenant Maynard: The Royal Navy officer who eventually runs Blackbeard to ground.

Black Sam Bellamy: Young, charismatic, the “Robin Hood of the Sea”, his seditious speeches and thoughts turn Blackbeard’s head, and into an American patriot.

There are so many others who could be listed here, who all had a role to play in building the legend, then destroying the man, ranging from Hornigold (Blackbeard’s first partner in crime), to governor Eden who pardoned him, to the over-arching (though absent) presence of King George I.

Plot:
We follow Thache as he begins sea-life, first as a Royal Navy officer, who witnesses first-hand the privations and punishments notorious in the royal fleet, which disgusts this privileged son of a wealthy Jamaican planter.

In 1715, he gets a loose commission from Governor Eden of North Carolina to salvage coin from wrecked Spanish ships, and sets off. The ships had gone down in a giant storm, and valuable treasure has been littered all over the shallow seafloor around Florida. By taking things a little too far, and raiding the camp of the Spanish soldiers, he crosses the line, and “goes on the account” i.e. becomes a pirate.

Spotswood, the governor, becomes increasingly embroiled in the local political in-fighting in Virginia, and has either alienated or increased tensions with most of his peers. He relies on his authority as the King’s representative to get a lot of things done, but there is an undercurrent of self-enrichment to his activities. While excoriating men such as Blackbeard for their crimes, he is not above bending the law to his own ends, or smashing it to pieces.

After capturing the slave Caesar, then recognising the quality of the man and turning him into a trusted crew-member, Blackbeard dives into the pirate life. He has no choice, as he is a wanted man. He has a natural capacity for leadership, and indeed the piratical society is much more egalitarian for its time (and even for today) than any other governing system. As time passes however, he realises there is less to the life than the dash and danger, and increasingly misses his lady-love, and his family. However, since he has chosen this life, he then aims to excel at it.

Blackbeard eventually comes across Stede Bonnet, who has just been soundly beaten in a fight he was advised against, and contrary to all belief takes him on as an apprentice. Bonnet is very depressed, filled with romantic notions of the sea that bear no semblance to reality, and his hired crew openly disrespect him. Bonnet sails with Thache for a year or so, but ultimately learns nothing. His career and failings serve only to highlight how successful Blackbeard was.

As the novel unfolds, we get an insight into the human Blackbeard, who loved his Margaret (family name lost to history), how he really treated his captives, his friends, alliances and enemies. We watch as he grows his pirate fleet from one small ship, to a flotilla with over 600 men serving under him. We see him at times wracked with indecision over which path to take, but steadfast when he chooses it.

As the novel draws to a close, we look on at the political machinations of Spotswood, and his determination to destroy Blackbeard to further (illegally) his own ends. We see the lengths to which Spotswood is prepared to go, even to invading his fellow colony North Carolina (an illegal move). Blackbeard’s final battle is thrilling – you can smell the gunsmoke from the pistols, and hear the ringing of steel against steel, as the pirate and the lieutenant fight for their very lives.

What I Liked:
- The depth of research is impressive. Throwing up a new picture of the dread pirate, and backing it up with a heady mixture of facts and strong narrative, makes this a great read.
- I loved the final battle scene.
- The recreation of the world of the pirates was excellent, with the right level of detail to give a clear insight, and providing a great background for how they interacted amongst themselves.
- The writing is clear, descriptive and engaging. It made the book very easy to read.

What I Didn’t Like:
- The author was firmly of the belief that Blackbeard was the first of the American patriots, and does seem to justify the numerous crimes in this light. However, he was a pirate, and received a dubious pardon for his deeds (which he subsequently broke). I’m no Blackbeard scholar, so I can only believe he was motivated as much by personal gain as throwing off the yoke.
- There was overkill on various points. We read about Spotswood’s political intentions too many times, we go back and forth in conversations, leading to a little disjointedness in the story flow. It is good for context, but the subject matter does not need the details of 18th century political life in Virginia spelled out more than once.

Overall:

I would definitely recommend this book. Superb subject matter (appeals to the 8-year old pirate king inside of me :D), well-written though a little over-patriotic, and thoroughly researched, it would be an excellent holiday read, or a base for further and deeper studies into the Golden Age of Piracy.

Acknowledgements:
My thanks to NetGalley and the author for sending me a free pdf of the book, in return for an honest and objective review.

The introduction to this got me excited because a lot of historical information was consulted by the author that shows Blackbeard very differently than pop culture has painted him and among the sources was David Cordingly, who wrote one of the best non-fiction books about pirates I've ever read.

Having established that the author did his research, this is presented as Historical Fiction so I was prepared to settle back and enjoy a good pirate story, but secure in the knowledge that it was based on facts as far as they are known. The one problem was that a lot of those facts were shoehorned in and made the flow of the story a little awkward.

Still, Blackbeard comes over as a mostly sympathetic character. The early chapters read more like a history book than historical fiction, but I did get caught up in the story a few chapters in. The events and chance meetings that led Edward Thache to turn from honest naval service to piracy are put into context in a way that demonstrates that he had little choice, as so many characters from history have found themselves on the wrong side of the law through circumstances of their times.

I enjoyed getting a look inside the sequence of events that actually happened and how Thache morphed into the pirate Blackbeard and obtained the Queen Anne's Revenge. With historical fiction about real people, you already know how it ends. It's reading about the sequence of events that lead up to what history tells us that makes it interesting and I came out of this feeling real sympathy for Blackbeard and his reasons for turning pirate, not least of all because he preferred taking his prizes without hurting anyone when he could.

There’s no denying that the notorious pirate Blackbeard was quite the imposing character in our known history. But what about the man behind the myth? Edward Thache was more than just a Fury on the Seas. Recent research has proven what a revolutionary man he was. This book takes into account all the new information scientists and historians have been able to uncover and puts it into an exciting narrative.
Marquis gives us a bit of a romanticized look into the life of piracy. Where all men have an equal say in all matters and are rewarded based on his ability not his birth. We see this in several of the relationships presented.
The writing itself is solid if occasionally a bit detail heavy. While the subject matter is historically sound this did cause for a drag in the pacing from time to time. Overall, I did enjoy this different approach towards the life of this particular character from history. If you are a fan of piracy, pre-American revolution, maritime tales or just history in general it is well worth the read.

This fictional story of Blackbeard's life draws on new historical evidence to support the author's suppositions. While we may never know his true identity, Marquis did an excellent job of piecing together previously known and recently discovered information to tell the tale of this pirate who sailed American waters in the 18th century. The author tried to separate myth from the 'real man'. Marquis tells of the loyalty of Blackbeard's crew to him and how his reputation as a vicious pirate was unfounded. A recommended read for those interested in pirate lore.

A brilliantly novel that raised the bar on pirate fiction to new heights for all the right reasons. This novel will make its way to the Top 10 of many pirate-novel fans!

Edward Thatcher, also known as Blackbeard, British Navy privateer turned pirate, controlled the Atlantic and the Caribbean during the Golden Age of Piracy. Both a hero and a villain of his time, Blackbeard became one of the first American revolutionaries in the War of Independence against the British. But who was he before Blackbeard, the most known pirate of the seas? This is the true story of the honourable man that masterfully dodged his obsessed pursuer, Alexander Spotswood, Virginia’s governor, became the most feared pirate to conquer both Atlantic and Pacific.

I can’t even put into words how much I enjoyed this novel. If I could give it more than five stars, I would.

As the reader follows both the perspectives of Blackbeard and Alexander, the reader is taken deep into the adventure marked by both determination and obsession in this cat-and-mouse game across the seas. The pace starts slow but picks up the pace, especially in the third part of the novel. I couldn’t put it down.

The novel starts with a detailed presentation of Edward Thatch, his life and values, portraying him as a hero before he became the evil pirate that he’s still known for nowadays. Pirates were paid by the British settlers in the New World to attack French and Spanish ships, something that Blackbeard was accustomed to doing. Only later, alliances shifted. The common dislike for the rule of King George of the House of Hanover the growing desire to see James III from the House of Stuart in his place fuelled a revolution that turned the ties in favour of the New World. As the rich became richer and the common folk paid the price, Blackbeard turned against the British taking the fortune of the rich and distributing it fairly amongst the people. Since the beginning, however, the man was known for his charisma, leadership and the way he swiftly attacked ships avoiding deadly confrontations for both his crew and the adversary. He treated everyone equally, no matter the colour of their skin or background. His men were proud to work with and for him. Surprisingly, by the end, he made choices that I definitely wasn’t expecting from him.

The way Samuel Marquis describes the life of Blackbeard and his crew, I could almost smell the salty waters and feel the fresh breeze. At the same time, he smoothly makes clear that those who became pirates had political, economic motivations and a deep love of freedom. He jumps from scene to scene connecting you to the story and its numerous characters with perfect ease, giving you just enough time to process all the details and information and fully visualise the settings.

The style of writing is incredible, Marquis found the perfect balance between historical facts, and fiction, bringing it together with a solid historical base and a beautiful, melodically and addictive style that makes you want to stay and sail the seas in it. I was amazed at the number of true facts the author embedded and I must admit I questioned myself which ones were true and which ones were fiction. Marquis mixed everything so perfectly, that it’s hard to distinguish what’s real and what’s not.

As you might have figured out, Blackbeard isn’t the villain of this story. Alexander Spotswood, Virginia’s lieutenant is the opposite of Blackbeard. A vindictive and tyrannical man, disliked by the members of his colony, obsessed in capturing the notorious privateer-turned-pirate to gain the favour of England, Alexander his known for his thirst for power and dominance. Marquis did an incredible job with this character and his build-up; he’s the perfect villain of this Golden Age of Piracy and the representation of the beliefs that the founders of the future United States would go against. Other characters like Steede Bonnet, a man that gave up his plantations in Barbados to make a life at sea (despite knowing next-to-nothing about it), give an extra touch of “human” to the story, making the story jump out of its pages. Marquis is a master of character building!

Buying a paper version of this novel is on my priority books-to-buy list! My recommendation? Read it, read it, read it! It’s a brilliant novel that will freshen up the lives of all pirate fans!

Thank you NetGalley, the publisher Mount Sopris Publishing and the author for allowing me to read and review a digital copy of this book.

5 stars and a bottle of rum to Blackbeard! ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

One of the places I was fortunate to live while growing up was the coast of North Carolina. Blackbeard’s ship, The Queen Anne’s Revenge, was run aground in 1718 at Beaufort Inlet, NC. Blackbeard everything abounded from special standing exhibits at the local museum and aquarium, trinkets and souvenirs, a restaurant in his name, and even a play. I was a young child then and already had an interest in history, so my obsession with the legend of Blackbeard began.

Reading this historical fiction book about Blackbeard was like the most delectable bit of nostalgia. Told in dual narratives of Blackbeard himself and Virginia lieutenant governor, Alexander Spottswood, Blackbeard is on the run while the obsessive Spottswood wants him captured to garner favor with England.

Prior to that, the book gives a full background on Edward Thatch (Edward Teach) painting him as quite the hero before he became much maligned. His motives and values are explored. In the early days, pirates like Blackbeard were given charters from state governments to attack French and Spanish ships, and it was only later that alliances were shifted.

Interestingly, the author is a distant relative of Captain Kidd, so he offers unique insight into this tale. I was able to read Blackbeard over a couple weeks, easily picking up the book at different times and falling right back into the well-written, engaging, and entertaining story. Well-done, Samuel Marquis! I’ll be checking out more of your historical novels.

Thank you to Samuel Marquis, JKS Communications, Mount Sopris Publishing, and Netgalley for the ARC. Blackbeard is available now!

An interesting and refreshing take on one of America's most beloved 18th century characters. Drawing on historical evidence Mr. Marquis takes the idea of the swashbuckling, raiding, rebel, hard drinking and hard living idea of Blackbeard and turns him into an average (well, maybe not quite average) man with a family to protect, a good woman he loves, and a country that he wants to save from the true scoundrels of 18th Century America, those loyal to the British Empire, in particular one Virginia Lieutenant Governor Alexander Spostswood.

I have to say for meet was really fun getting this look at Blackbeard, who hung around with one of my ancestors, Captain Sam Bellamy, better known as Black Sam and because a good portion of the book occurs in Williamsburg, VA where I currently live. I am now ready to go explore all the places along D.O.G. Street and through out Williamsburg with new eyes. While the rest of you can't do that I will tell you that Mr. Marquis does do a wonderful job presenting the setting for you so that you have a clear picture in your head. On that note I did find Blackbeard to be almost too descriptive. While I like a less heavily detailed book I know it will appeal to many others and even if you aren't overly found of lots of information and details don't let this turn you away from what is really a great pirate book.

It is interesting to me how in the end you may have a different opinion on who Blackbeard was I can say that I am not sure you will walk away seeing anyone in this book as either a hero or a villain. This is an interesting look at how two men and the choices they were given leave to make, shaped America as we know it now. It is intriguing to think that our country was not just founded and shaped by the likes of George Washington and Thomas Jefferson, et al. But men like Blackbeard, the Gentleman Pirate, Black Sam, and The Flying Gang. How one sunken ship laden with treasure changed the course of history for both good and bad and how perhaps the pirates of our history were less pirate and more patriot than you could have ever imagined.

In 1715, Edward Thache sets sail on a course that will lead him to become one of the most maligned pirates of all time. Discover what a glimpse of the truth in this fictional retelling of the Golden Age of Piracy.

This detail heavy novel left me conflicted. On the one hand, it is an amazing tale of history’s greatest pirate. The author draws on historical evidence to bring Edward Thache, AKA Blackbeard, to life. Instead of a cruel villain of the ocean, here we are presented with a man who was fair in his dealings (well, most of his dealings), loved a beautiful woman, and was a Robin Hood of his time.

On the other hand, however, there were multiple instances of the “F” word. True to the time? Perhaps, but not what I want to read. There was also a couple sex scenes. Did it happen? No doubt, but again, not the kind of detail I want.

It was difficult to cheer on either side. There was a lousy politician who sought to hide the poor handling of his position by illegally going after the pirates. On the other side, though, we have pirates who are clearing bending the rules to fit them. Neither earned my sympathy or support through the narrative.

This was an interesting novel, one I would recommend to readers who enjoy a pirate’s tale.

Based on the latest historical research, this novel gives us a different vie of the famous pirate, one thar is very different from the one we all think we know.

Marquais paints a portrait of an engaging sailor and a life that resonates with many of our cherished ideas of freedom and individuality.

It was a wonderful book. And in case you wonder how accurate the reconstruction is, the author has extensive historical notes at the end of the book, giving you details about several of the main characters.