Pirates!

Description

When two young women meet under extraordinary circumstances in eighteenth century West Indies they are unified in their desire to escape their oppressive lives. The first, a slave forced to work in a plantation mansion and subjected to terrible cruelty at the hands of the plantation manager. The second, a spirited and rebellious English girl, sent to the West Indies to marry well and combine the wealth of two respectable families. But Fate ensures that one terrible night the two young women have to save each other and run away to a life no less dangerous but certainly a lot more free. As pirates they roam the seas, fight pitched battles against their foes and become embroiled in many a heart quickening adventure. Written in brilliant and sparkling first person narrative Celia Rees has created a wonderful novel in which the past is brought vividly and intimately to life.

Celia Rees lives in Leamington Spa with her husband. This is Celia's third book for Bloomsbury and confirms her place as one of Britain's leading writers for teenagers. Celia's previous books with Bloomsbury - Witch Child, short listed for the Guardian book award, and Sorceress have sold over 175,000 copies in the UK and are translated in to 15 languages.

'(Pirates!) is a swashbuckling tale of suspense, romance, danger and sisterhood. Rees writes through the eyes of a teenager and brilliantly describes the trials that her characters face' Sunday Express July 2004 'Pirates! by Celia Rees is brilliant, fabulous, unputdownable...Rees' themes are those of great literature. Rees encompasses in her novel not only the ethics of the slave trade but racism and the position of women in society. These themes and issues give the book the feel of an adult novel but when combined with the all-pervading sense of adventure and a dash of romance the end result is deeply satisfying.' Books for Keeps 'Children of this age [8-12] aspire to be teenagers, and never more so than when given a rip-roaring tale about them. Celia Rees has followed the best-selling Witch Child with Pirates! Superbly well-written, this rollocking romance is pure joy.' The Times