Lafitte the Pirate

by Lyle Saxon, E.H. Suydam (Illustrator)

Lyle Saxon's superbly written account examines Lafitte's fascinating career and frees the truth of the pirate's life from the web of fantastic myths which grew up around him.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Pirates, Classics, Historical, Biography

352 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1930

About the author

Lyle Saxon was a journalist and author best known for his work with The Times-Picayune and his leadership of the Louisiana WPA Writers' Project during the 1930s. Born in 1891, likely in either Baton Rouge or Washington State, Saxon was raised in Baton Rouge and later became a central literary figure in New Orleans. He lived in the French Quarter, where his home became a gathering place for writers like William Faulkner and Sherwood Anderson. His grandmother, Elizabeth Lyle Saxon, was a noted suffragette and poet.
Saxon authored several notable books exploring Louisiana's culture and history. Among these are Fabulous New Orleans, Old Louisiana, and Gumbo Ya-Ya, a celebrated collection of Louisiana folktales. He also wrote novels including Lafitte the Pirate, which inspired Cecil B. DeMille's film The Buccaneer, and Children of Strangers, set among Creole communities along the Cane River. His book The Friends of Joe Gilmore reflects his personal relationship with his Black valet.
Saxon embraced New Orleans traditions, especially Mardi Gras, participating with theatrical flair. Openly gay within artistic circles, he led a vibrant social life that intertwined with his literary pursuits. He died in 1946 and is buried in Baton Rouge.

Reviews

[Max Nemtsov · Rating 5 out of 5]

Превосходная (с поправкой на 1930-й год) био подлинного героя, авантюриста и шпиона (да, у меня что-то опять начался заход на книжки про шпионов — но не романы, конечно, они гораздо беднее жизни), сыгранного Юлом Бриннером. «Флибустьер» 1958 года — фильм вполне точный вплоть до битвы за Нью-Орлинз, что неудивительно, поскольку первый фильм, римейком которого он был, поставлен именно на основе этой книжки. А вот все, что после этой битвы — расходится даже с версией Википедии (которая, правда и эту книжку считает «романом»).
И еще раз — несбыточная, видимо, мечта, чтобы и у родного города был такой же летописец, каким Лайл Сэксон был для Нью-Орлинза.

[Metta · Rating 5 out of 5]

I went into this book expecting a dry, somewhat boring read. My mistake! This is a well-written, well-researched book that is full of adventure, swashbuckling and intrigue. The author quotes from primary sources whenever possible - you hear about Lafitte from people who knew him. Towards the end, the book goes over the various myths that have accumulated around Jean Lafitte - and the history he's just outlined is far more interesting than the pirate's fictonalized life. Highly recommended for anyone who wants to learn about one of the most colourful privateers in history.

[Van McNeil · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun breezy account of the creole legend

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was almost as good as Fabulous New Orleans. I just love the way Mr. Saxon writes. He's so romantic and mysterious. Seriously, I can't get enough of his stuff! It's a crying shame he's gone!

[Riley M · Rating 3 out of 5]

this is hard to rate. being written in the 1930s describing events from over 100 years before there's little things I find odd as a modern reader. there's lots of talk about women and African slaves thats very blasé but when discussing events involving sexual assault the author wouldn't even come close to saying it as it was. the biography is super interesting and I had never heard of lafitte before coming across this book. worth reading but can drag at bits and it's definitely of its time

[Viola Russell · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book does provide details of Lafitte's time in New Orleans, but it lacks significant scholarship and doesn't detail much of what the city was like at the time of Lafitte's time there. True scholars would need a more detailed telling of customs, city life, and battles. There are some very interesting letters from Lafitte and other dignitaries.

[Austin Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great entertaining book that never lacks a dull moment, with evidential-packed historical accuracy and first-hand accounts of the New Orleans legend.

[Richard Gazala · Rating 4 out of 5]

Early and more than once in "Lafitte The Pirate" (first published in 1930), author Lyle Saxon concedes that distilling truth from legend in researching Jean Lafitte's life is a difficult task. When Saxon wrote this book about a century after the notorious pirate's (noble privateer's? esteemed war hero's?) death, he could uncover no authoritative records conclusively stating even such mundane information as when or where Lafitte was born or died. Accordingly, it's unsurprising that Saxon's chronicle of Lafitte's life between those estimated dates is tinged with at least as much myth as fact. The book's consequent and considerable flaws as an accurate historical treatise on Lafitte also render "Lafitte the Pirate" a grand and very entertaining story. While toiling as best he can within the limitations of available sources of varying reliability in detailing Lafitte's life, Saxon strives mightily and successfully to compensate for those limitations by conveying with admirable aptitude the fascinating social, cultural and political atmosphere of New Orleans and Louisiana during Lafitte's lifetime. After all, the back stories to Lafitte's adventures include the Louisiana Purchase, the War of 1812, and the Mexican War of Independence, in each of which "Captain" Lafitte participated for nobility or profit (mostly profit) to one degree or another. The book's large cast of supporting characters, ranging from shady New Orleans ruffians, lawyers and politicians to famous (and often shady) American judges, generals and presidents, makes this entertaining work well worth reading by anyone interested not only in Lafitte himself, but in the man's time and place during a seminal period in American history.

[Aaron · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fascinating tale of Jean Lafitte, the "privateer," that ruled over the Gulf of Mexico and leader to the Baratarians. If you love legend, myth as much as I do than you will appreciate this book as it tells the most exciting part of Lafitte's life from extensive research done by writer Lyle Saxon. It pretty much breaks down fact from fiction, but still gives the reader a chance to decide what is real and what is myth, which makes the book all more intriguing and exciting to read.

I picked up this book on my recent visit to New Orleans when I visited the New Orleans Historic Collection Museum; there, I was checking out The Andrew Jackson exhibit. Lafitte along with his brother Pierre fought along General Jackson at that time against the British, when they tried to invade and conquer the state of Louisiana. Naturally they had a book about him and when I saw that it was about a pirate I had to pick it up.

I enjoyed this book because it tells a realistic story of a man really just taking advantage of a situation to make a living during a time when the US was growing and breaks away from telling a story of a swash-buckling pirate that we all seem to think exists from movies or folklore. I love myth and folklore, don't get me wrong, but sometimes I like to think for myself and make up my own mind about a legend such as Lafitte.

Anyway pick up this book when you are in New Orleans and make sure to visit Lafitte's Blacksmith Shop, which is now a bar-unfortunately, to soak up a piece of history and ideate how it might of been in the 19th century.

[Beth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great pirate book. Takes you back to the golden days of Louisiana during one of its' most colorful periods. Funny in some parts and also very sad in others. The author provides many original letters and first-hand accounts, and lets you decide for yourself what kind of men the Lafitte brothers truly were, although his spin is positive for the most part.

[Jen · Rating 5 out of 5]

The prose gets a little florid, and some bits are speculative, but a good biography of my favorite pirate.

[Bayou des Cannes Cajun · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book. Excellent read. Captivating.

[Sherry]

I bought this antique book as a Christmas gift thinking I would read it first. Things got too busy and I didn't read it but I can't find a way to delete this from my reading list. Something you might want to think about, Good Reads. I've been trying to find ways to delete books I change my mind about reading for 2 years and can't find it.