Analysis
While Blood is a fictional character, much of the historical background of the novel is based on fact. The Monmouth rebels were sold into slavery as described in the book; and the shifting political alliances of the Glorious Revolution of 1688 are used in the novel as a plot device to allow Blood's return to respectability.
Captain Blood was an enormously popular work, and Sabatini wrote two additional novels featuring Peter Blood: Captain Blood Returns (1930) (retitled The Chronicles of Captain Blood in the British publication) and The Fortunes of Captain Blood (1936). Both of these books are episodic tales of Blood's pirate career rather than true sequels. All the episodes are contained within the timeframe of the original novel, although Sabatini mistakenly dated one story "1690" despite the fact that Blood's piratical career had been established as ending in 1689, and two stories in Captain Blood Returns: "The War Indemnity" and "Blood Money" may be viewed as continuations of events that took place in the original novel.
Peter Blood and his exploits are based on several individuals, Henry Morgan and Thomas Blood in particular, and Henry Pitman, a physician who was actually swept up in the Monmouth Rebellion, sold into slavery in Barbados, escaped and was captured by pirates. However, unlike the fictional Blood, Pitman didn't join them, and eventually made his way back to England where he wrote a popular account of his adventures.
The bitter aftermath of the Monmouth Rebellion also features prominently in Arthur Conan Doyle's "Micah Clarke".
In the opening chapter of Arturo Pérez-Reverte's The Club Dumas, two characters discuss their favorite novel by Sabatini, with book dealer Lucas Corso preferring Captain Blood.
Read more about this topic: Captain Blood (novel)
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