Tales of Pirates and Blue Water (1922) by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

Book Review by George S: This 1922 volume contains stories written by Doyle over a long period, and the most striking are the four about the evil pirate Sharkey, set mostly in the Caribbean during the early eighteenth century. In the course of them, Doyle presents a potted history of the Caribbean. He depicts it … Continue reading →

A Son of the Sun by Jack London (1912)

Review by Sylvia D A Son of the Sun is a collection of short stories, all of which originally ran in the Saturday Evening Post in 1911 and all of which feature the adventures of Captain David Grief, a self-made fleet and plantation owner plying his trade in the South Pacific. Grief owns a number … Continue reading →

The ‘Bartimeus’ Omnibus (1935)

Review by George Simmers – see his Great War Fiction blog here The author was born Lewis Anselm da Costa Ricci in 1886; he anglicised his name to Ritchie and trained to become a naval officer. While still young, he contracted Malta Fever (brucellosis); this cost him the sight of one eye and damaged the … Continue reading →

All Hands! by H. M. Tomlinson (1937)

As part of our adventure stories month, we set sail with a sea story… Review by John S. Plot summary: The Hestia, a tramp steamer, is the main character in this novel. We meet her in the East Indies where she is regarded by the crew as an unlucky, even cursed vessel – ‘there’s a … Continue reading →