Pirates Of Barbary: Corsairs, Conquests and Captivity in the 17th-Century Mediterranean

Description

The incredible, action-packed secret history of Barbary Coast piracy in the 17th century, by the author of the acclaimed The Verneys From the coast of Southern Europe to Morocco and the Ottoman states of Algiers, Tunis and Tripoli, Christian and Muslim seafarers met in bustling ports to swap religions, to battle and to trade goods and sales - raiding as far as Ireland and Iceland in search of their human currency.Studying the origins of these men, their culture and practices, Adrian Tinniswood expertly recreates the twilight world of the corsairs and uncovers a truly remarkable clash of civilisations Drawing on a wealth of material, from furious royal proclamations to the private letters of pirates and their victims, as well as recent Islamic accounts, Pirates of Barbary provides a new perspectives of the corsairs and a fascinating insight into what it meant to sacrifice all you have for a life so violent, so uncertain and so alien that it sets you apart from the rest of mankind.

Adrian Tinniswood OBE FSA is the author of fifteen books on social and architectural history, including Behind the Throne- A Domestic History of the Royal Household; The Long Weekend- Life in the English Country House Between the Wars, a New York Timesand Sunday Times bestseller; His Invention So Fertile- A Life of Christopher Wren and The Verneys- a True Story of Love, War and Madness in Seventeenth-Century England, which was shortlisted for the BBC/Samuel Johnson Prize. He has worked with a number of heritage organisations including the Heritage Lottery Fund and the National Trust, and is currently Senior Research Fellow in History at the University of Buckingham and Visiting Fellow in Heritage and History at Bath Spa University.

Tinniswood's absorbing book is packed with bad characters, big fights and breathless chases -- Peter Lewis * Daily Mail * Tinniswood narrates this story with brio and bravura, displaying an excellent eye for the theatrical detail and juicy episode -- Maria Fusaro * BBC History Magazine * Adrian Tinniswood is a masterly writer of history with a gift for slamming his readers into the thick of the action -- Jason Goodwin * Literary Review * This rollicking book unpicks a confusion of names, dates and places to produce a fascinating history of seabourne conflict. -- Christopher Hudson * Daily Telegraph * This exciting book proves that such obscurity is both surprising and undeserved -- James McConnachie * The Times *