Captain Kidd: A True Story of Treasure and Betrayal

Rating: 4* of five

The Publisher Says: The breakneck adventure of war, romance, politics, and betrayal, where noble gentleman privateer William Kidd becomes a scapegoat, and Crown and crew sink to unfathomable depths to brand him pirate enemy #1.

Captain William Kidd stands as one of the most notorious “pirate” outlaws ever, but his notorious legend is tainted by a bed of lies. Captain Kidd has captivated imaginations for over three hundred years and inspired many stories about pirates, but was he really a criminal? Just how many ships did he plunder, how many men did he force to walk the plank, and how many throats did he slit? Or is the truth more inconvenient, that he was a buccaneer’s worst nightmare, a revered pirate hunter show more turned fall guy for scheming politicians?

In Captain Kidd, his ninth-great-grandson, writer Samuel Marquis, reveals the real story. Kidd was an English-American privateer and leading New York husband and father, dubbed “trusty and well-beloved” by the King of England himself and described by historians as a “worthy, honest-hearted, steadfast, much-enduring sailor” who was the “victim of a deliberate travesty of justice.” With honors far more esteemed than the menacing Blackbeard or any other sea rover at the turn of the seventeenth century, how can Kidd be considered both gentleman and pirate, both hero and villain?

Marquis’ biography clears the foggy haze of five centuries of legend and British propaganda to illuminate the seafaring adventurer and civic leader. He scrupulously recreates Kidd’s perilous world of explosive naval warfare, the daring integrity he exemplified as a pirate hunter, and the political scandal that entangled Kidd in British-American history, rocking the New World and the Old and threatening England’s valuable trade with India.

Captain Kidd is both thrilling and tragic. Behind the legend is a real man woven into the tapestry of early America, rendering him a unique colonial hero and scapegoat, whose life story was fascinating, exciting, bizarre, and heartrending.

I RECEIVED A DRC FROM THE PUBLISHER VIA NETGALLEY. THANK YOU.

My Review: From "privateer" (government-endorsed pirate) to "pirate" (privateer who pissed someone powerful off), Captain Kidd really comes alive in his ninth(!)-great-grandson's retelling of his biography. It's quite a tale indeed. Even sticking to well-attested facts in court records and sources of like stature, it reads like a novel.

That is not an indictment of the author's veracity but a comment on his story's narrative flow. The endnotes, hugely extensive, are not included in the ebook. They are redirected to the publisher's website via a link or a QR code, both of which I followed to be sure they went where I expected them to go. I'm mildly disgruntled by this.It is a decision that, I suppose, stems from the publisher's presumption that most people don't give a toss about endnotes, so why not...what? does it cost less to do it this way? is the same thing done in the print book?...anyway, it cost the book a star.

While the horror of what happened to Kidd was in no way acceptable to modern eyes, neither were his actions. A privateer might be commissioned by the government of the day to do damage to others' economic well-being, that kind of mercenary fig-leaf is seen in today's world as dishonest whole and entire. It still happens, especially where official government involvement in an activity would cause major PR problems (as ICE is demonstrating very capably right now), but we can ignore it until someone gets pissed off who has the power to make the one they're mad at suffer the consequences widely spreadable.

Any of this ringing some bells?

Kidd's execution was awful to read about, again because the author's storytelling chops are very much on display. It is amazing how much documentary evidence, anecdotal or not, still exists about Kidd. Author Marquis has, I am morally certain, clapped eyes on every single extant source for this grisly tale. It is a feat that took decades, and determination far greater than the ordinary, to accomplish. That he is a descendant of the man unjustly accused, and hanged—twice!—no doubt turbocharged his natural-to-writers research skills. What made it fun to read was both the subject matter...what little boy, however old he may be, isn't delighted by a pirate story?...and knowing while reading it that the author's telling a true family tale.

Maps, and notes, added to the text and I'd be warbling my fool lungs out about the story. as it is, I/ recommend you procure one if you're a superannuated pirate-loving kid like me, or if your dad/grandpa is, or if you're in the market for a story of government-by-grumpiness story to make today feel a tiny bit less unprecedented.

You might not feel better but knowing it's happened before has much to teach us. show less

I have always been secretly enamored with pirates, even before my sister's genealogy research tied us (very dubiously) with a privateer who operated off the Carolina coast in the 18th century. Thus my interest in a well-researched story of a real pirate of the Caribbean.

Samuel Marquis has done an admirable job of balancing a wealth of historical facts with the swashbuckly stuff that makes me want to say, "Arrrr!" Not a recreational read--it does require your concentration, but well done and worth the investment of your time.

Captain Kidd: A true story of Treasure and Betrayal
Written by Samuel Marquis (Kidd’s his ninth great-grandson)

I started this book with a bit of skepticism since it was a biography written by Samuel Marquis, Captain Kidd's descendant, which seems only natural that it would be presented with a slant towards defending the reputation of the privateer, Captain Kidd, who was accused of turning pirate. Even if hundreds of years have passed, Samuel Marquis' premise is reinforced with extensive details and research regarding Captain William Kidd's character and private life. This takes up a good part of the first chapters of the book. Eventually, the author presents the claim that New York privateer, Captain Kidd, was used a scapegoat and show more truly abandoned by his backers when accused of turning pirate by the England's king.

One interesting quote:

…the King’s once “trusty and well-beloved Captain Kidd” became not only a political puppet in the clash between the Whigs and Tories but the lead actor from central casting in the battle between the Crown and defiant American colonies...the Kidd affair revealed fracture lines between England and the “rebellious rabble” across the Atlantic that would within the next century spark revolution. #14 pg. 268.

And another quote:

…the Kidd affair, putting all the blame squarely on the king’s privateer by claiming he had “turned pirate” #22 pg. 270.

In Chapter 17, titled, Stacking the Deck (February & March 1701) With well over a year in captivity, much of which was without legal counsel, he eventually received pen & paper used to prepare his own defense. Not until later, when close to trial did he received legal advice. Much is presented about documents and existing French passports that would have led to Kidd’s acquittal if those papers had been handed over. But these seemed to have been lost or misplaced.

Supporting quotes:

Clearly, the French passports should have been available to Captain Kidd in the spring of 1701, as they were found in 1910 by treasure-hunting American historian Ralph Paine, tucked away in the records of the British Board of Trade. Instead, the handwritten French documents were deliberately withheld from Kidd for his trial. (#50 pg. 291) …For more than two centuries, some British historians were skeptical of the existence of the French passports—until the American Paine unearthed them in London and in the process discovered a 210-year-old English conspiracy to seal the fate of William Kidd. (#52 pg. 291)

Also, Kidd in his own defense did much of the questioning during his trial, and Samuel Marquis presents plausible arguments that members of Kidd’s mutinous crew lied under oath while giving testimony at the trial.

Reading this book, not only did I learn much about the privateering and piracy, but at its conclusion, I also became aware of the injustices those with autocratic power can press upon others. show less

First, let me get rid of the minor "negatives": the book has a QR code to scan to see a combined Endnotes and Bibliography section--it would have been nice to be able to see the sources and check endnotes while reading, but, understandable, because it runs to 94 pages, that's why it couldn't be included; the writing, for the most part, is scholarly, but every so often, the author throws in an informal phrase or swear word which detracts from the scholarliness; and the beginning is so bogged down with names and details that it is sometimes difficult to keep track of who is who (although the author does provide a cast of characters, which is helpful).

Now, for the many positives: the author, being a ninth-great grandson of William Kidd, show more necessarily wants to prove the positive character of Captain Kidd, and he does so--I was cheering Kidd on, and was very angry at the judicial system of the time that didn't allow a proper defense during his trial, so the author does a good job of backing up his angle on his ancestor; once the details of the beginning are finished, the story becomes interesting to follow and draws the reader in. Thus the book is an excellent combination of history and narrative that has given me a much broader view of Captain Kidd than the pirate whose treasure hasn't been found. show less

First, I would like to thank Diversion Books and LibraryThing.com for this copy of the book. All the opinions expressed are my own.

Fiction is usually my genre of choice. However, this book was intriguing because it was written by the ninth-great-grandson of Captain Kidd. The exploits of Captain Kidd have gone down in history. Thanks to the massive research done by the author, we have a truer understanding of who this historical figure was. He was a family man, a patriot, and a great leader. He was maligned at the time, but he has been shown to be a good man who was railroaded because of people and things beyond his control.

People who love history, especially before the American Revolutionary War, who like biographies, and who become show more lost in a great narrative (in the style of Eric Larson), will want to read this. I recommend it highly. The record is set straight in this tome, and I have a new appreciation of Captain Kidd and his heart.

Thank you, Samuel Marquis, for giving us this well-researched, thorough perspective of the real William Kidd. show less

Well researched tome, demonstrating to the reader the many facets of Captain Kidd's character, in an era of grey and blurred lines.

The bulk of the narrative focuses on Kidd's arrest and trial, with the author offering his personal opinion on Kidd towards the end of the book, before delving into the legend, the legacy and long-lost loot.

Overall, a worthy tome.

There has been so much that is disputed about Captain Kidd that a volume is needed to clear up misconceptions and false statements about this controversial figure. The author attempts to clarify and explain Kidd in his context and situate him in his time. With the popular view of piracy here, the volume illustrates the story of treasure and betrayal.