Pirates, Shipwrecks, and Historic Chronicles

by Edward Rowe Snow

New England sea stories and historical events dealing with pirates, the supernatural, shipwrecks, and buried treasure are retold

Genres: Nonfiction, History

Hardcover

First published November 1, 1981

About the author

Edward Rowe Snow was an American author, lecturer, and historian. He spent most of his life studying the legends, lighthouses, and islands of New England. He wrote many pamphlets, books, and articles, and made lecturers and tours throughout the area with his wife.

Reviews

[Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is great. It is a collection of short descriptions of various historical occurrences, most of which involve the sea and the New England coast. One of the best things about this book is the way the author tells the stories; instead of being dry and tedious, he is lively and very, very interesting. Although these historic chronicles are the result of painstaking research, they feel just as smooth and natural as any short story. Most chapters are only a few pages long, but each offers a particular insight into the region's varied and colorful history.

In this book, read these great stories:

‣ A dog in a shipwreck who saves 177 people (including a pregnant woman)

‣ Two little girls who are home alone when the British army invades—and who make them retreat

‣ A "flying Santa" who drops books, candy, and toys from his airplane every December

‣ A secret staircase

‣ Buried treasure . . . no, really!


Seriously, this book is gold.

[pietastic · Rating 2 out of 5]

The writing... I couldn't understand. I'm laughing that the cover flap blurb called him a "master storyteller" because these were not so much stories as... a list of things he knew about an event? Including how he came to know those things. It was often non-linear, a lot of irrelevant information, and just heavy on the detail, light on the storytelling. Or, weirdly, some stories seemed to lack any crucial detail. I frequently found it very hard to follow

I was also a bit disappointed that a lot of it had nothing to do with pirates or shipwrecks. Some things might have been interesting anyway, but not the way he told them.

Read if you like to know folk history of the New England coast.