''The Queen of the Caribbean'' is a

1901 Events January * January 1 – The Crown colony, British colonies of New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria (Australia), Victoria and Western Australia Federation of Australia, federate as the Australia, ...

adventure novel Adventure fiction is a type of fiction that usually presents danger, or gives the reader a sense of excitement. Some adventure fiction also satisfies the literary definition of romance fiction. History In the Introduction to the ''Encyclopedi ...

written by Italian novelist

Emilio Salgari Emilio Salgari (, but often erroneously ; 21 August 1862 – 25 April 1911) was an Italian writer of action adventure swashbucklers and a pioneer of science fiction. In Italy, his extensive body of work was more widely read than that of Dante A ...

. Set in the Caribbean during the

Golden Age of Piracy The Golden Age of Piracy is a common designation for the period between the 1650s and the 1730s, when maritime piracy was a significant factor in the histories of the Caribbean, the United Kingdom, the Indian Ocean, North America, and West Africa ...

, the novel follows the exploits of Emilio Roccanera, Lord of Ventimiglia as he continues his attempts to avenge his brothers, slain by the Duke Van Guld, as narrated in the first book of the series,

The Black Corsair ''The Black Corsair'' is an 1898 adventure novel written by Italian novelist Emilio Salgari. Set in the Caribbean during the Golden Age of Piracy, the novel narrates the exploits of Emilio Roccanera, Lord of Ventimiglia and his attempts to ave ...

. This novel focuses on the struggles between the Black Corsair's quest for vengeance and his guilt for having abandoned Honorata, his love interest and daughter of his enemy.

Plot summary

Four years have passed since the battle of Gibraltar. The Black Corsair has tracked Duke Van Guld down to

Veracruz Veracruz (), formally Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave), is one of the 31 states which, along with Me ...

at last, and has formed an alliance with

Nicholas van Hoorn Nicholas van Hoorn (c. 1635 in Vlissingen – buried 24 June 1683, in Isla Mujeres) was a merchant sailor, privateer and pirate. He was born in the Netherlands and died near Veracruz after being wounded on the Isla de Sacrificios. ''Nikolaas'' or ...

Michel de Grammont Michel de Grammont (c. 1645 – 1686?) was a French privateer. He was born in Paris, Kingdom of France and was lost at sea in the north-east Caribbean, April 1686. His privateer career lasted from around 1670 to 1686 during which he commanded th ...

and

Laurens de Graaf Laurens Cornelis Boudewijn de Graaf (c. 1653 – 24 May 1704) was a Dutch pirate, mercenary, and naval officer in the service of the French colony of Saint-Domingue during the late 17th and early 18th century. De Graaf was also known as Laurencil ...

, three of the most formidable pirates in the Gulf, to finally bring his foe to justice. After Van Guld explodes his ship as a final resource, the Black Corsair and some of his men manage to escape and are lost in the jungles, at which point they're captured by the native

Caribs “Carib” may refer to: People and languages *Kalina people, or Caribs, an indigenous people of South America **Carib language, also known as Kalina, the language of the South American Caribs *Kalinago people, or Island Caribs, an indigenous pe ...

. Fortunately for them, Honorata had shipwrecked on the coast before and was believed by the natives to be a sea deity and then followed as their queen. After they're freed by her, the Corsair decides to stop his piracy and return with Honorata to Italy.

The Series

The quest for vengeance stretches over the course of several novels: ''

'' (''Il corsaro nero''),''The Queen of the Caribbean'' (''La regina dei Caraibi''), ''

Yolanda, The Black Corsair's Daughter ''Yolanda, the Black Corsair's Daughter'' is a 1905 adventure novel written by Italian novelist Emilio Salgari. It is the third installment of The Black Corsair series, preceded by The Queen of the Caribbean and followed by Son of the Red Corsa ...

'' (''Jolanda, la figlia del Corsaro Nero''), and '' The Son of the Red Corsair'' (''Il figlio del corsaro rosso'').

Film versions

There have been several film versions of the novels. In the 1920s, director Vitale Di Stefano first brought the Corsair trilogy to the screen with a series of silent films. In 1937,

Amleto Palermi Amleto Palermi (11 July 1889 – 20 April 1941) was an Italian film director and screenwriter. He directed more than 70 films between 1914 and 1942. He directed '' The Old Lady'', which starred Vittorio De Sica in his first sound film. Se ...

directed the first remake of ''Il corsaro nero'' and Italian fencing champion

Ciro Verratti Ciro Verratti (17 August 1907 – 6 July 1971) was an Italian fencer. He won a gold medal in the team foil event at the 1936 Summer Olympics. He was cast as the lead in the 1937 pirate swashbuckler ''The Black Corsair ''The Black Cors ...

was cast to play the Black Corsair. In 1944, Mexican director

Chano Urueta Santiago Eduardo Urueta Sierra (24 February 1904 – 23 March 1979), more commonly known as Chano Urueta, was a Mexican film director, producer, screenwriter, and actor. Filmography Director *1928: '' El Destino'' *1933: '' Profanación'' *1934 ...

filmed '' El corsario negro'', the first Spanish language adaptation. In 1976,

Kabir Bedi Kabir Bedi ( pa, ਕਬੀਰ ਸਿੰਘ ਬੇਦੀ; born 16 January 1946) is an Indian actor. His career has spanned three continents covering India, the United States and especially Italy among other European countries in three media: fi ...

and

Carole André Carole André-Smith (born 11 March 1953) is a French-Italian former actress. Her best known role was Kabir Bedi's love interest Lady Marianna, nicknamed "", in the successful RAI series ''Sandokan'' (1976). Since retiring from acting, she has b ...

were reunited to portray The Black Corsair and Honorata in another

Sergio Sollima Sergio Sollima (17 April 1921 – 1 July 2015) was an Italian film director and Screenwriter, script writer. Biography Sollima graduated from the Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia in 1935. During World War II he was in the Italian Resistanc ...

adaptation of a Salgari classic, ''

''. Urueta's and Sollima's films are available on DVD. In 1999

Mondo TV Mondo TV is an Italian production and television distribution company. Founded by Orlando Corradi in 1985 and based in Rome, Mondo TV is a public company, quoted on the STAR segment of the Italian main stock exchange, Borsa Italiana. It distribu ...

(Italy) created a 26-episode animated TV series "The Black Corsair".

Trivia

In the late 19th century Emilio Salgari was Italy's foremost writer of adventure novels. He was knighted in 1897 in recognition for his work. The Black Corsair, the Chevalier Emilio, is named after himself. He also pays tribute to the

House of Savoy The House of Savoy ( it, Casa Savoia) was a royal dynasty that was established in 1003 in the historical Savoy region. Through gradual expansion, the family grew in power from ruling a small Alpine county north-west of Italy to absolute rule of ...

, Italy's Royal family to show his gratitude. Yolanda, the Black Corsair's daughter is named after

Princess Yolanda of Savoy Princess Yolanda of Savoy (1 June 1901 – 16 October 1986) was the eldest daughter of King Victor Emmanuel III of Italy. Biography She was born Principessa Iolanda Margherita Milena Elisabetta Romana Maria di Savoia ( en, Princess Yolanda M ...

. Salgari used ''Geschichte der Filibustier. The History of the Pirates, Free-Booters, or Buccaneers of America.'' by

Johann Wilhelm von Archenholz Johann Wilhelm Archenholz was born in Langfuhr (Wrzeszcz) near Danzig (Gdańsk) on 3 September 1741. He was a Prussian officer, Professor of History and a publicist. His book about the history of the Seven Years' War (1756–63) was the ...

as one of his main references. The attack on Vera Cruz is based on true events as are the biographies of the pirates that appear in the novel.

External links

*
Read the first chapter.

Read a review at Readers' Favorite.

Read a review at Kirkus Reviews.

* [https://www.economist.com/blogs/prospero/2017/06/still-telling-tales?fsrc=scn/tw/te/bl/ed/italysenduringloveaffairwithemiliosalgari Italy’s enduring love affair with Emilio Salgari, The Economist, June 2017] {{DEFAULTSORT:Queen of the Caribbean, The 1901 novels Novels by Emilio Salgari Italian novels adapted into films

Plot summary

The Series

Film versions

Trivia

See also

External links