This book was first published in Dutch in 1940. The English translation goes by the obvious title Rum Island. The story is set in the 1730s and the narrator is a young Oxford graduate, Richard Beckford, who travels to Jamaica to investigate suspicious activity around the family plantation. Richard was born in Jamaica, and as… Continue reading Rumeiland by Simon Vestdijk
Category: 1940s
The Sorceress of the Briney Deep
This comic was published in Captain Kidd #25 in August 1949. According to the narrator, "Ann Bonny was not an ordinary piratess who took to the sea for the need of money and fortune," since she was rich. The story begins with Ann losing her temper and being punished by her father. She is something… Continue reading The Sorceress of the Briney Deep
Mary Read, Woman Pirate
This story appeared in Crimes by Women #7, published in June 1949. The uncredited writer begins by informing us that women are very capable of committing crimes, "Yet there is one kind of crime in which it is almost impossible to picture a woman and not refrain from smiling. Be honest about it. Can you… Continue reading Mary Read, Woman Pirate
High Towers by Thomas B. Costain
This book is about the sons of Charles le Moyne and their involvement with the French settlements first in Canada and then in Louisiana in the early 18th century. Calico Jack is mentioned briefly when one of the characters claims to have been a member of his crew. Calico Jack is described as "a murderous… Continue reading High Towers by Thomas B. Costain
The Beautiful Buccaneer
This comic appeared in Captain Kidd #24, published by Fox Feature Syndicate in June 1949. In this story, Mary is "a comely young girl in her early twenties" who goes to work as a governess in France. She spends a lot of time hanging out with sailors, some of whom at one point invite her… Continue reading The Beautiful Buccaneer
Buccaneer Mary
This comic appeared in Real Life Comics #44, published in May 1948. This is a very brief 3-page summary of the life of Mary Read, showing her as a soldier, a merchant sailor, and a pirate before getting arrested and tried. In the end, the judge doesn't want to execute a woman, so he condemns… Continue reading Buccaneer Mary
Lady of the Black Flag
This comic appeared in It Really Happened #11, published by Visual Editions, Inc. in October 1947. The first panel promises us that Anne is doomed. In the story Anne has a Guybrush Threepwood longing to be a pirate. She dresses as a man and a character named John invites her to join the crew of… Continue reading Lady of the Black Flag
Lusty Wind for Carolina by Inglis Fletcher
This book follows Men of Albemarle in Inglis Fletcher's series of North-Carolina-set historical fiction. It begins in 1718. The main characters leave England for Carolina and sail with the fleet of Woodes Rogers, on his way to his governorship in the Bahamas. Anne Bonney is back, older and a full-fledged villain. Yeah baby. Stupid Roger… Continue reading Lusty Wind for Carolina by Inglis Fletcher
Men of Albemarle by Inglis Fletcher
Let's see, 1710s, well, it's kind of Victorian, and kind of medieval...just figure it out Inglis Fletcher wrote a series of novels about North Carolina history, and Men of Albemarle, published in 1942, begins in 1710 and features Anne Bonney as a minor character. John Rackham is mentioned periodically in the background--in this story he… Continue reading Men of Albemarle by Inglis Fletcher
Ladies of the Jolly Roger by J. Griffen-Foley
This article appeared in the July 1947 issue of Cavalcade and briefly summarizes Johnson's lives of Mary Read and Anne Bonny. Mary's brother dies at 10 months old. Mary joins the army at age 14 and as a man she goes by the name Mat. She tells the Fleming she's a woman by whispering to… Continue reading Ladies of the Jolly Roger by J. Griffen-Foley
Depictions of John Rackam, Anne Bonny, and Mary Read 