Pirates!

Pirates!

by Celia Rees

Narrated by Jennifer Wiltsie

Unabridged — 8 hours, 56 minutes

Pirates!

Pirates!

by Celia Rees

Narrated by Jennifer Wiltsie

Unabridged — 8 hours, 56 minutes

Audiobook (Digital)

$14.95
FREE With a B&N Audiobooks Subscription | Cancel Anytime
$0.00

Free with a B&N Audiobooks Subscription | Cancel Anytime

START FREE TRIAL

Already Subscribed? 

Sign in to Your BN.com Account


Listen on the free Barnes & Noble NOOK app


Related collections and offers

FREE

with a B&N Audiobooks Subscription

Or Pay $14.95

Overview

It is the dawn of the eighteenth century, when girls stay home and sew while men sail the high seas finding adventure, danger, and gold. But two unusually adventurous girls--a rich merchant's daughter, Nancy Kington, and her former plantation slave, Minerva Sharpe--take to the high seas from Jamaica on a shop the crew renames Deliverance. Not just any trading ship, the Deliverance flies black flags from its mast, proclaiming to all that the newly named, hijacked ship is a pirate vessel, striking fear into the hearts of those she approaches. Or so they hope.

For Nancy, the Deliverance is her escape from an arranged betrothal to a controlling and devilish man. For Minerva, it is an escape from slavery, as well as from the fearsome overseer on Nancy's family plantation. But in the end, the money, the adventure, the companionship, and the chance to see the world not as women, but as bold and daring pirates, is an opportunity neither can deny.

A powerful, thrilling, and ultimately inspiring journey of two women who break the bonds of gender, race, and position to find their own way to glory.


Editorial Reviews

Publishers Weekly

A wealthy young woman escapes an arranged marriage by posing as a pirate. In a starred review, PW wrote, "Fans of Rees's earlier Witch Child will relish this highly romantic cross-dressing romp on the high seas in the early 18th century." Ages 12-up. (Sept.) Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.

School Library Journal

Gr 6-9-This swashbuckling adventure features all of the elements of a grand pirate tale: sword fights, duels, charming rogues, true love, murder, and the odd severed head. Narrator Nancy Kington joins a pirate crew to escape an arranged marriage to a deliciously evil Brazilian, a former pirate himself. She takes along Minerva, a slave who not too surprisingly turns out to be her half sister. The pirates, in one of many happy coincidences, are captained by Mr. Broom, who had already befriended Nancy on an earlier voyage. Quickly adapting to the life, the two young women survive storms, capture, mutiny, and more. This crew manages to steal with little or no bloodshed, except when the victims are clearly villainous themselves. Nancy comes to relish the excitement of sea life, but still hopes to reunite with the young man she loves, who serves with the British Navy. The narration is well paced and engrossing, giving readers a strong feel for the times without bogging down in details. Nancy describes the practice of slavery and the rights of women perceptively, but fairly convincingly for a 1725 character of her background and experience. The first 100 pages are less exciting than the rest of the book, but they set the stage nicely for the involving exploits that follow. The inevitable showdown with the Brazilian provides a satisfying page-turner of a climax. While a few of the supporting characters seem a bit wooden, and some plot twists stretch credulity, this is a rip-roaring adventure with an engaging female heroine.-Steven Engelfried, Beaverton City Library, OR Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.

Kirkus Reviews

A rambling, romantic 18th-century tale features a teenaged British heiress who, along with her African half-sister, avoids Terrible Fate by becoming a pirate. In the wake of her father's sudden death, Nancy finds herself hustled from comfortable Bristol to the family's Jamaican sugar plantation, where she forms an alliance with Minerva, a strangely attractive body slave. Following the shocking discovery that her thoroughly vile brothers have sold her to cruel, swarthy ex-buccaneer Bartholome, Nancy stops the plantation's vicious overseer from raping Minerva by blowing out his brains-whereupon both young women don men's clothing and go to sea. Minerva and Nancy both demonstrate facility with fist, blade, and pistol as they survive storms, battle, attempted mutiny, leering suitors, and other hazards-climaxed by a confrontation with Bartholome, who pursues her relentlessly from the Caribbean to Madagascar. Minerva's true identity comes out eventually, and in the end, both she and Nancy acquire suitable mates without losing their yen for adventure. An ambitious but fundamentally conventional tale, closer to Ann Rinaldi's historical novels than the more rousing likes of Avi's True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle. (Fiction. YA)

San Francisco Chronicle

"Robust and romantic."

starred review Booklist

« "[Rees ] tells a riveting, full-speed adventure filled with girl-powered action, magic, and love..."

Booklist

« "[Rees ] tells a riveting, full-speed adventure filled with girl-powered action, magic, and love...

JUN/JUL 04 - AudioFile

Listeners will be enchanted by Jennifer Wiltsie’s narration of the exploits of female pirates Nancy Kington and Minerva Sharpe. Wiltsie’s characterization of Nancy, the merchant’s daughter, is spellbinding, blending a slightly aristocratic British accent with the attitudes of the eighteenth-century American bourgeoisie. Minerva, a slave at birth, is equally well done. The stage for adventure is set when the two women cross the path of the evil Brazilian pirate turned plantation owner who yearns to marry Nancy so that he may acquire her inheritance. This is an enchanting tale of two brave souls who escape their predetermined stations in life and fight for their freedom. D.L.M. © AudioFile 2004, Portland, Maine

Product Details

BN ID: 2940169493733
Publisher: Penguin Random House
Publication date: 01/27/2004
Edition description: Unabridged
From the B&N Reads Blog

Customer Reviews