The Black Corsair

Yes Virginia, there were black pirates back in the day; but no, this terrific adventure novel is not about one of them. The black in Emilio Salgari’s The Black Corsair refers to a mysterious—and mighty teed-off—Italian swashbuckler obsessed with a noxious gripe against his mortal enemy. Our hero is one Chevalier Emilio di Roccanera, Lord of Valpenta and Ventimiglia, a 17th century nobleman turned pirate out to avenge the murder of his two brothers. His deadly foe is a man named Van Guld, a former Flemish army officer who is now the Governor of Maracaibo. A despicable yellowbelly and turncoat, Van Guld runs off to Venezuela after betraying di Roccanera’s brothers, who go after him but instead are hanged when they catch up with him. Thus the Black Corsair, with the aid of some of the best known pirates of the day, François L’Ollonais, Michael the Basque and a young Henry Morgan, dedicates himself to the death of not only Van Guld but all his kin. Allied to those famed buccaneers, the Black Corsair takes part in an invasion and plundering of Maracaibo. But once there he learns that Van Guld and some Spanish soldiers have fled on foot to Gibraltar—a port city on the opposite shore of Lake Maracaibo—where he agrees to meet L’Ollonais for an attack on that city. Accompanied by several of his stout and hardy pirates, the Black Corsair pursues Van Guld through endless miles of dense jungle and forest. And here is where a good portion of The Black Corsair is set, and then followed by an exciting climax and an unforgettable resolution. Oh, there are some scenes that stretch credulity, such as the pirates catching fireflies and tying them to their pants legs as if they were miniature flashlights; or what treetop monkeys are thinking, but these are tongue-in-cheek asides. All in all, The Black Corsair is classic genre fiction at its best. One can only hope that the other volumes in this series are translated into English and made available. —Victor Rodriguez, author of Taíno Sunrise.

While living in So. America in the 40's, I used to read these, tales of pirates,in Spanish, good and bad men and women, in far away places. I must say, my heart jumped for joy a few years ago when ROH press announced the publication of the English version in the United States, sold by Amazon. Their translation and the presentation of each volume, published in order and at intervals is most pleasant and attractive to the eyes and spirit I have ever seen in Salgari's works. Emilio Salgary would be proud of how his tales are presented and packaged. Every child from 7 to 70 should read these books. they take us to a time different from ours, where each man was considered an individual and fought for what he believed in. No mass murder and no grim reality, just exciting adventures in the style of Jule Verne or Alexandre Dumas.

The Black Corsair proved to be a quite good read. I was not sure about this choice because it is much less well known than some classic pirate tales. The ending is quite surprising.

My son asked for this for Christmas and was happy to have it.

Aaaaargh!! This be a fierce yarn of Caribbean piracy! A cutlass-breadth short on seafaring and ship-fighting, a dram too much of slogging through the farging jungle, but a worthy tale nonetheless, considering the ample violence, gore, and curiously chivalrous pillaging of colonial cities. Avast! Read it on ye Kindle connected to wikipedia so's ye gets a map showing there whereabouts of the action. Erstwhile, gets ye an atlas so's ye can follow the navigation. Where be Maracaibo? Tortuga? Y'er adrift without such orientation and may as well be marooned. Don't forget to read it with rum!

This was one of my favorite childhood books. Decades passed and now I have my own kids and I wanted to introduce them to my own favorites. I was thrilled to discover that ROH Press published new English translations of Salgari's works. My son read it in one night.

I was happy to find some English translation from this very popular Italian author. It is almost an icon in Latin speaking culture. Obviously from a 45 year perspective it is a bit different but it still was very enjoyable. Great locale description and very dynamic personalities.

Great read right up their with the classics

This makes for very engaging reading. It's great for an older child to read on their own, but also for a parent to read to a younger child, possibly 7 or 8 years old.

Great classic

Fiction corsaresca della saga Salgariana della filibusta. Forse il più bello della serie. Si legge tutto d'un fiato.BUon prezzo, edizione economica ma ben confezionata. Da prendere.