Captain Redlegs Greaves -- a review

Captain Redlegs Greaves - A Pirate by Mistake by Juliet Mofford

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Victors inflict harsh changes on those who lose. Such is the fate for more than 7,000 Scots – men, women, and children – following the Battle of Worcester in 1651, when they are transported to Barbados. Although the law guarantees them light at the end of seven years, a dead Scot is far better than a live one and they are treated so harshly that few of these exiled Royalists – who become known as “redlegs” – ever regain their freedom. This is the tale of one who did.

The concept of liberty is foreign to fourteen-year-old Daniel Greaves, who has only known servitude, but freedom is a dream that his father refuses to surrender. This is why the pair are on the run when the story opens in 1663. The hope is to get aboard a ship that will take them to Scotland. But plantation owners are notorious for not surrendering property, especially the cruel and heartless Reginald Pickett. When caught, Daniel suffers ten lashes. His father’s punishment is far worse, for this is his third escape attempt, which means he is branded a fugitive traitor in addition to being flogged. Infection sets in, which combined with the loss of hope, leads to death. Before his father succumbs, Daniel promises to one day gain his freedom. He keeps a low profile, while watching and waiting for that day to come.

Fortune shines on Daniel when Pickett sells him to a new owner. William Chandler, a kind man in need of an apprentice for his shipping business. Daniel is treated more like an adopted son than a slave, and he becomes adept in his new trade. As he comes of age, he falls in love with Clarissa, Chandler’s daughter. He also befriends a cabin boy from a mysterious ship that sometimes visits the island. Daniel teaches him to read in exchange for learning to tie knots. When a tragic loss leads to debts which leads to more tragedy, Daniel learns he is to be sold back to Pickett – a situation he cannot and will not tolerate. Left with no other choice, he bids a poignant farewell to Clarissa, who promises to wait for him, and flees the island. But the ship on which he stows away isn’t a merchant ship. Nor is she bound for Scotland. It is the cabin boy’s vessel and when the mean-spirited captain, who is often drunk, discovers him, Daniel can either be thrown overboard or join the pirates.

This biographical novel tells the story of Captain Redlegs Greaves, a gentleman pirate who is an ancestor of the author’s husband. Greaves has a moral compass that influences his choices as a pirate and eventually leads him to retire a rich man, who takes the king’s pardon. Before then, he finds himself embroiled in a mutiny, commanding a pirate ship, facing the hangman’s noose, experiencing the sea quake that decimated the first settlement on Nevis in 1680, and serving aboard a New England whaler.

The author achieves her goal of depicting a pirate tale based on fact rather than romance. The epilogue reads more like an author’s note, letting readers know what happens to Greaves after he reunites with Clarissa, but fails to identify what elements of Daniel’s story are fact and what are fiction. The reader isn’t always fully engaged in the story because information dumps occasionally interrupt its flow and the dialect in dialogue is sometimes difficult to decipher. No explanation is given as to how Greaves manages to meld back into society while retaining his real name throughout his life. Clarissa also seems to get over her horror of his piracy too easily.

In spite of these shortcomings, Mofford’s depiction of what Greaves endures and how he overcomes the hurdles he encounters is commendable. She pulls no punches, yet entwines a thread of hope compelling readers to keep turning pages. The potency of this tale that makes it intriguing is her use of a pirate protagonist often overlooked in histories of Caribbean piracy. This book may be fiction, but it is based on facts that have rarely been shared with others, which is why it is worth reading.




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