SOLVED. Pig and Pirate Book [s]

[Kathryn]

Somewhere between 8 and 10 year ago I read a book about pirates that like to eat pork. I don't remember much of the story, but it was all very goofy and I don't believe the pirates were terribly successful. The copy of the book also had 2 books in it. Each cover was a different book and you had to turn it over to begin the second book. I believe that they were a series.

The only other thing I remember is that I went to the book launch party. It was held on a boat that had been recovered after sinking and was docked on the west side of Manhattan. The people at the party were dressed up like pirates and they were serving grog and pork.

[Tab]

Kathryn, was this a children's picture book?

[Kathryn]

No. It was defiantly adult humour and there may have been foul language

[Tab]

The Pirates! In an Adventure with Scientists is the first in the Pirates series

Here's another descrip:

The story of the high seas, daring, romance, ham, and men who like to dress up in women's clothing begins in the 1850s near the Galapagos Islands, where a crew of jolly—very jolly—pirates loll about the beach all day, planning sumptuous Ham roasts and toying with astrolabes (or possibly sextants—they can never quite get them straight). (view spoiler)[Worried that discipline is getting slack, the Pirate Captain decides to take his men to sea and set upon the first vessel they find, which happens to be the Beagle, with Darwin aboard. After ransacking the ship for not much plunder, the pirates agree to spare Darwin's life in exchange for a trip back to London with him and his trained chimpanzee, Bobo. Darwin expects to make a fortune off Bobo on the music-hall circuit, though he faces stiff opposition from the dastardly Bishop of Oxford, Soapy Sam Wilberforce, who has invested heavily in P.T. Barnum's traveling freak show and dislikes competition. The bishop has gone so far as to kidnap Darwin's brother Erasmus in hopes of persuading Darwin to cancel the show. Back in London, Darwin puts the pirates up at the Royal Society, passing them off as scientists. Bobo takes the West End by storm (his enactment of The Journal of the Plague Year is a great smash), and the pirates are soon the toast of the town. They manage to save Erasmus, vindicate Darwin, and thwart the bishop's scheme for extracting the life force from nubile young women (hint: the machine won't work on men in drag). They even manage to invent a dirigible and go a fair way toward getting Darwin laid. (hide spoiler)]

[Kathryn]

I'm about 99% sure this is it. Thank you!

I haven't been able to find a double book like I had, but the stories for the first two in the series ring a bell. Plus, the second one was published in 2005, which is when I think I went to the pig and pirate party. I'm going to get a copy and go from there.

I really appreciate your help!