Captain B Roberts
Written under the pseudonym Captain Charles Johnson, scholars still debate the actual identity of the author of the General History of the Robberies and Murders of the Most Notorious Pyrates. In 1932, John Robert Moore, a biographer of Daniel Defoe, attributed the book to Defoe. More recently, however, other scholars have acknowledged Nathaniel Mist, a sailor turned publisher, as the likely author.
Originally published in 1724, the first volume gruesomely recounts the lives and adventures of the most notorious pirates of the age, including Blackbeard, Ann Bonny and Bartholomew Roberts. The second volume chronicles the adventures of pirates of an earlier time, such as Thomas Tew and William Kidd.
Many of the aspects of pirate life that we’ve come to expect in films and books (for instance missing limbs, missing eyes, or buried treasure) can be traced back to the stories found in these volumes.
