The Life and Tryals of the Gentleman Pirate, Major Stede Bonnet

How the unlikeliest of pirates came to stand among the New World's most notorious and successful pirates.

Major Stede Bonnet was living the good life by the age of 28. Bonnet was a wealthy, well-married father of three children, and the family lived on a400-acre estate on the lush Caribbean island of Barbados.

Then Bonnet had a "humor to go a-pirating," and left it all behind…

An heir to an established land-owning aristocratic family in Barbados, Major Stede Bonnet enjoyed luxuries equal to those of the finest houses in London. "A Gentleman of good Reputation" and a "Master of a plentiful Fortune," he was given "the Advantage of a liberal Education," but the call of the sea-and perhaps more significantly, the push of his obligations as a father and husband-cast Major Bonnet onto an unlikely and deliberate course toward piracy.

The real story of pirates of the Caribbean. Awash with myth-busting history, Moss tells the story of the real pirates of the Caribbean, sharing accounts of their daily life, social issues, natural disasters, political intrigues, bloody battles, and, of course, buried treasure, walking the plank, flying the Jolly Roger, pirate-speak and much more, all while weaving in interesting connections to the history of early colonial America.

The Golden Age of Piracy. Through Bonnet's story, Moss introduces the most notorious of pirates, including Charles Vane, Charles Condent (also known as "Billy One-Hand"), Robert Deal, "Calico" John "Jack" Rackham, Israel Hands, Benjamin Hornigold, William Kidd, Mary Read, Anne Bonny, and the pirate to whom Bonnet would forever be connected, Edward Teach or Thatch(infamously known around the world as "Blackbeard"). Follow Major Bonnet through his improbable and exciting journey in the Golden Age of Piracy.

If you enjoyed shows like Black Sails, Outlander or Our Flag Means Death, movies like Pirates of the Caribbean or Master and Commander, or books like Black Flags Blue Waters, Under the Black Flag, The Republic of Pirates, or Villains of All Nations, Enemy of All Mankind, or Why We Love Pirates, then The Life and Tryals of the Gentleman Pirate, Major Stede Bonnet should be on your "must read" list.