Sea Hawk

Rafael Sabatini, who lived from 1875 to 1950, was an Italian-English writer, born in Italy and educated in Portugal and Switzerland, who wrote in English and became one of the great names of historical adventure fiction. He is best known for a handful of novels, among them Scaramouche, Captain Blood and The Sea Hawk, which was published in 1915.

The story is set in the late sixteenth century. Its hero is a Cornish sea-faring gentleman, Sir Oliver Tressilian, who is villainously betrayed by a jealous brother. After being forced to serve as a slave on a Spanish galley, he is liberated by Barbary pirates and joins them under the name Sakr-el-Bahr. He swears vengeance against his brother, and the tale unfolds through ambushes, chases and confrontations that move between England and the Mediterranean.

Sabatini’s method is to combine historical background with a fast, cleanly constructed plot. His prose is polished and his sense of period is carefully maintained, though like many adventure writers of his time he reflects the attitudes of his era. The book was adapted for the cinema more than once, and it has remained a favourite of readers who enjoy a good sea story.

The LibriVox recording has thirty-four chapters and lasts about fourteen and a half hours. It is read by two volunteers, Denny Sayers, who died in 2015, and Sandra in Wales, United Kingdom. Sabatini’s careful historical backdrop gives the story weight, yet it never slows the action, and the sea chapters are especially memorable. It remains one of the most enjoyable adventure novels of its period.