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 Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...

. In Italy, his extensive body of work was more widely read than that of

Dante Alighieri Dante Alighieri (; most likely baptized Durante di Alighiero degli Alighieri; – September 14, 1321), widely known mononymously as Dante, was an Italian Italian poetry, poet, writer, and philosopher. His ''Divine Comedy'', originally called ...

. In the 21st century, he is still among the 40 most translated Italian authors. Many of his most popular novels have been adapted as comics, animated series and feature films. He is considered the father of Italian

adventure fiction 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 (prose fiction)#Definition, romance fiction. History In t ...

and Italian

pop culture Popular culture (also called pop culture or mass culture) is generally recognized by members of a society as a set of practices, beliefs, artistic output (also known as popular art pop_art.html" ;"title="f. pop art">f. pop artor mass art, some ...

, and the "grandfather" of the

Spaghetti Western The spaghetti Western is a broad subgenre of Western films produced in Europe. It emerged in the mid-1960s in the wake of Sergio Leone's filmmaking style and international box-office success. The term was used by foreign critics because most o ...

Life

Emilio Salgari was born in

Verona Verona ( ; ; or ) is a city on the Adige, River Adige in Veneto, Italy, with 255,131 inhabitants. It is one of the seven provincial capitals of the region, and is the largest city Comune, municipality in the region and in Northeast Italy, nor ...

to a family of modest merchants. From a young age, he had the desire to explore the seas and studied seamanship at a nautical technical institution in

Venice Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...

, but his academic performance was too poor, and he never graduated. He began his writing career as a reporter for the daily ''La Nuova Arena,'' which published some of his work as serials. As his powers of narration grew, so did his reputation for having lived a life of adventure. He claimed to have explored the

Sudan Sudan, officially the Republic of the Sudan, is a country in Northeast Africa. It borders the Central African Republic to the southwest, Chad to the west, Libya to the northwest, Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the east, Eritrea and Ethiopi ...

desert, met Buffalo Bill in Nebraska (he had actually met him during his "Wild West Show" tour of Italy), and sailed the

Seven Seas "The Seven Seas" is a figurative term for all the seas of the known world. The phrase is used in reference to sailors and pirates in the arts and popular culture and can be associated with the Mediterranean Sea, the Arabian Seven Seas east of Af ...

. His early biographies were filled with adventurous tales set in the

Far East The Far East is the geographical region that encompasses the easternmost portion of the Asian continent, including North Asia, North, East Asia, East and Southeast Asia. South Asia is sometimes also included in the definition of the term. In mod ...

, events which he claimed were the basis for much of his work. Salgari had actually never ventured farther than the

Adriatic Sea The Adriatic Sea () is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula. The Adriatic is the northernmost arm of the Mediterranean Sea, extending from the Strait of Otranto (where it connects to the Ionian Se ...

. He turned his passion for exploration and discovery to writing. His first stories were serialized in newspapers. Early in his career, he began signing his tales as "Captain Salgari", a title he once defended in a duel when his claim to it was questioned. Though knighted by the Queen of Italy and wildly popular, Salgari did not earn much money from his books and lived hand to mouth for most of his life. Salgari married Ida Peruzzi – nicknamed " Aida," with whom he was very happy for years. The couple had four children. Salgari's private life was clouded by several tragedies. In 1889 his father committed

suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Risk factors for suicide include mental disorders, physical disorders, and substance abuse. Some suicides are impulsive acts driven by stress (such as from financial or ac ...

. Ida became ill after 1903 and Salgari's struggling increased with her medical bills. These events led Salgari to depression, and he attempted suicide in 1910. After Ida was committed to a mental ward in 1911, Salgari was overwhelmed and took his own life soon afterwards, imitating the Japanese ritual of ''

seppuku , also known as , is a form of Japanese ritualistic suicide by disembowelment. It was originally reserved for samurai in their code of honor, but was also practiced by other Japanese people during the Shōwa era (particularly officers near ...

'', and died on 25 April 1911. He left three letters, addressed to his and Ida's children, his publisher, and the editors of his newspaper in

Turin Turin ( , ; ; , then ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The city is main ...

. The letter to his publisher said: Two of the sons of Emilio and Aida also committed suicide, Romero in 1933 and Omar, a adventure writer himself, in 1963. His daughter Fatima died of tuberculosis in 1914, while his remaining son Nadir died in a motorcycle accident in 1936. His wife died in the mental ward in 1922.

Writing career

Salgari wrote more than 200 adventure stories and novels, setting his tales in exotic locations, with heroes from a wide variety of cultures. He gained inspiration from reading foreign literature and newspapers, travel magazines and encyclopedias, which he used to portray his heroes' worlds. He wrote four major series: ''The Pirates of Malaysia''; ''The Black Corsair Saga''; ''The Pirates of Bermuda''; and a collection of adventures set in the Old West. Salgari's heroes were mostly pirates, outlaws and barbarians, fighting against greed, abuse of power, and corruption. His most famous heroes

Sandokan Sandokan is a fictional late 19th-century pirate created by Italian people, Italian author Emilio Salgari. His adventures first appeared in publication in 1883. Sandokan is the hero of 11 adventure novels. Within the series, Sandokan is known ...

, The Tiger of Malaysia, a Bornean prince turned pirate, and his loyal lieutenant Yanez of Gomera, led their men in attacks against the Dutch and British fleets. They declared war on James Brooke, the White Rajah of Sarawak, and tried to force him from his throne. The Black Corsair and Captain Morgan maintained a chivalric code in the Caribbean, while Salgari's pirates of Bermuda fought for American independence. His tales had been so popular that soon his publisher hired other writers to develop adventure stories under his name. They added 50 novels to his “canon”. Salgari's style was imitated by many, but no other Italian adventure writer managed to duplicate his popular success. He also published numerous minor works, among which ''Il Brick Maledetto'' (Milano, Sonzogno, 1936) published posthumousl

Legacy

Salgari's work was imitated in one form or another by many who came after him. A large part of the Italian adventure literature is a continuation of Salgari's work. Many late 19th century writers such as Luigi Motta and Emilio Fancelli wrote further ''Sandokan'' adventures imitating Salgari's style: fast-paced, filled with great battles, blood, violence and punctuated with humour. The style soon spread to films and television. One example is the work of the director

Sergio Leone Sergio Leone ( ; ; 3 January 1929 – 30 April 1989) was an Italian filmmaker, credited as the pioneer of the spaghetti Western genre. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest directors in the history of cinema. Leone's film-making style ...

, whose outlaw heroes in his

s were inspired by Salgari's piratical adventurers. More than 50 film adaptations have been made of Salgari's novels, and many more were inspired by his work (corsair stories, jungle adventure stories, and swashbuckling B movies, such as '' Morgan, the Pirate'', starring Steve Reeves).

Federico Fellini Federico Fellini (; 20 January 1920 – 31 October 1993) was an Italian film director and screenwriter. He is known for his distinctive style, which blends fantasy and baroque images with earthiness. He is recognized as one of the greatest and ...

loved Salgari's books. Pietro Mascagni had over 50 Salgari titles in his library.

Umberto Eco Umberto Eco (5 January 1932 – 19 February 2016) was an Italian Medieval studies, medievalist, philosopher, Semiotics, semiotician, novelist, cultural critic, and political and social commentator. In English, he is best known for his popular ...

read Salgari's works as a child. His work was very popular in Portugal, Spain and Spanish-speaking countries, where Latin American writers such as Gabriel García Márquez, Isabel Allende, Carlos Fuentes,

Jorge Luis Borges Jorge Francisco Isidoro Luis Borges Acevedo ( ; ; 24 August 1899 – 14 June 1986) was an Argentine short-story writer, essayist, poet and translator regarded as a key figure in Spanish literature, Spanish-language and international literatur ...

and Pablo Neruda, all attested to reading him when young.

Che Guevara Ernesto "Che" Guevara (14th May 1928 – 9 October 1967) was an Argentines, Argentine Communist revolution, Marxist revolutionary, physician, author, Guerrilla warfare, guerrilla leader, diplomat, and Military theory, military theorist. A majo ...

read 62 of his books, according to his biographer Paco Ignacio Taibo II, who remarked that the revolutionary's

anti-imperialism Anti-imperialism in political science and international relations is opposition to imperialism or neocolonialism. Anti-imperialist sentiment typically manifests as a political principle in independence struggles against intervention or influen ...

could be seen to be "Salgarian in origin". Though popular with the masses, Salgari was shunned by critics throughout his life and for most of the 20th century. It was not until the late 1990s that his writings began to be revisited, and new translations appeared in print. They have been newly appreciated for their characterization and plots. In 2001 the first National Salgari Association was founded in Italy to celebrate his work.

Films

Historians debate the first film adaptation of a Salgari novel. '' Cabiria'', directed by Giovanni Pastrone bears many similarities to Emilio Salgari's 1908 adventure novel ''Cartagine in Fiamme'' (Carthage is Burning). Salgari was never credited, and Gabriele D'Annunzio was billed as the official screenwriter. D'Annunzio had been brought on board to help revise the film once it had been shot, earning the credit by changing the title to ''Cabiria,'' changing the name of some of the characters, and rewriting the captions from what Pastrone had done. The three-hour epic movie with its cast of thousands created a sensation throughout Italy. It pioneered epic screen production and foreshadowed the work of D.W. Griffith, Sergei Eisenstein and others. Vitale De Stefano brought Salgari's pirates to the big screen in the early 1920s with a series of five films shot over two years, including ''Il corsaro nero'' The Black Corsair and ''La Regina dei caraibi'' (The Queen of the Caribbean). Lex Barker appeared as the tiger hunter Tremal-Naik in the 1955 B-movie ''The Mystery of The Black Jungle''. Sandokan was played by Hercules star Steve Reeves in '' Sandokan the Great'' and ''The Pirates of Malaysia aka The Pirates of The Seven Seas''.

Ray Danton Ray Danton (born Raymond Caplan; September 19, 1931 – February 11, 1992) was an American radio, film, stage, and television actor, director, and producer whose most famous roles were in the screen biographies ''The Rise and Fall of Legs Diamo ...

played the pirate in Luigi Capuano's ''Sandokan Against the Leopard of Sarawak'' (aka ''Throne of Vengeance''.) and later reprised the role in ''Sandokan Fights Back'' (aka ''The Conqueror and the Empress''). The 1944 Mexican film '' El corsario negro'' is based on his novel '' The Black Corsair''. The 1965 adventure film ''La montagna di luce'' (''The Mountain of Light'') was loosely based on Salgari's 1902 novel of the same title, which referred to the name of the Koh-i-Noor diamond. The film was released in English under several titles, the most commonly known of which was '' Jungle Adventurer''. One of the alternate titles used for a later re-release was ''Sandok'', an attempt to capitalize on the popularity of Salgari's fictional pirate

, even though neither the novel, nor the film had anything to do with Sandokan's character or the settings of his adventures (the plot revolved around a fictitious attempt to steal the Koh-i-Noor, and took place in 19th-century

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

). In 1976, the landmark ''Sandokan'' TV miniseries played throughout Europe. It starred Kabir Bedi in the title role and attracted more than 80 million viewers a week. Bedi has been considered the quintessential

ever since. He later reprised the role in the late 1990s in a series of sequels.

Publishers

Salgari's works have been published by numerous publishing houses worldwide. These include: Donath, Viglongo, Carroccio, RCS MediaGroup, and Mondadori in Italian; Saturnino Calleja, Editorial Porrúa (Colección Sepan Cuantos) and Ediciones Gaviota in Spanish; Editora Illuminuras in Portuguese; Bouquins in French; ABLIT Verlag in German; and ROH Press in English
ROH Press
has been republishing the novels in Italian, with their translations into English and Spanish.

Work available in English

Cover of ''Il corsaro nero'', third edition 1904, illustration by Alberto Della Valle Though Salgari's novels have been popular in Europe and Latin America for over a century, at present only nine titles are available in English, published by ROH Press.

The Tigers of Malaysia series

* '' The Mystery of the Black Jungle'' * '' Sandokan: The Tigers of Mompracem'' * '' Sandokan: The Pirates of Malaysia'' * '' Sandokan: The Two Tigers'' * '' Sandokan: The King of the Sea'' * '' Sandokan: Quest for a Throne''

The Black Corsair series

* '' The Black Corsair'' * '' The Queen of the Caribbean''

Captain Tempesta

* '' Captain Tempesta''

Bibliography

The Sandokan series

* '' The Mystery of the Black Jungle'' (''I Misteri della Jungla Nera'', 1895) * '' The Tigers of Mompracem ''(''Le tigri di Mompracem'', 1900) * '' The Pirates of Malaysia'' (''I pirati della Malesia'', 1896) * '' The Two Tigers'' (''Le due Tigri'', 1904) * '' The King of the Sea'' (''Il re del mare'', 1906) * '' Quest for a Throne ''(''Alla conquista di un impero'', 1907) * '' Sandokan to the Rescue'' (''Sandokan alla riscossa'', 1907) * ''Return to Mompracem ''(''La riconquista di Mompracem'', 1908) * ''The Brahman ''(''Il Bramino dell’Assam'', 1911) * ''An Empire Crumbles ''(''La caduta di un impero'', 1911) * ''Yanez’ Revenge ''(''La rivincita di Yanez'', 1913) The last three tiles were published posthumously.

The Black Corsair series

* '' The Black Corsair'' (''Il Corsaro Nero'', 1898) * '' The Queen of the Caribbean ''(''La regina dei Caraibi'', 1901) * '' Yolanda, the Black Corsair's Daughter'' (''Jolanda, la figlia del Corsaro Nero'', 1905) * '' The Son of the Red Corsair'' (''Il figlio del Corsaro Rosso'', 1908) * '' The Last Pirates'' (''Gli ultimi filibustieri'', 1908)

The Pirates of Bermuda series

* ''I corsari delle Bermude'' (1909) * ''La crociera della Tuonante'' (1910) * ''Straordinarie avventure di Testa di Pietra'' (1915)

Adventures in the Old West series

* ''Sulle frontiere del Far-West'' (1908) * ''La scotennatrice'' (1909) * ''Le selve ardenti'' (1910)

Other series

Two sailors

* ''Il Tesoro del Presidente del Paraguay'' (1894) * ''Il Continente Misterioso'' (1894)

Il Fiore delle Perle

* ''Le stragi delle Filippine'' (1897) * ''Il Fiore delle Perle'' (1901)

I figli dell'aria

* ''I Figli dell'Aria'' (1904) * ''Il Re dell'Aria'' (1907)

Captain Tempesta

* '' Captain Tempesta'' (''Capitan Tempesta'', 1905) * ''The Lion of Damascus'' (''Il Leone di Damasco'', 1910)

Short stories

* ''I racconti della Bibliotechina aurea illustrata'' (1900–1906) * ''Le novelle marinaresche di Mastro Catrame'' (1894) * ''Le grandi pesche nei mari australi'' (1904) * ''Il Brick Maledetto'' (Milano, Sonzogno, 1936) published posthumousl

Adventure anthology

Excerpts from 15 of Salgari's titles were collected in ''Storie Rosse'' in 1910. Each excerpt is introduced by a brief synopsis of the novel it was drawn from.

Other adventures

Adventures set in India and Asia

* ''I naufragatori dell'Oregon'' (1896) * ''La rosa del Dong-Giang'' (1897; also known as: ''Tay-See'') * ''Il capitano della Djumna'' (1897) * ''Sul mare delle perle'' (1903) * ''La città del re lebbroso'' (1904) * ''La gemma del fiume rosso'' (1904) * ''La Perla Sanguinosa'' (1905)

Adventures set in Africa

* ''I drammi della schiavitù'' (1896) * ''La Costa d'Avorio'' (1898) * ''Le caverne dei diamanti'' (1899) * ''Le avventure di un marinaio in Africa'' (1899) * ''La giraffa bianca'' (1902) * ''La montagna d'oro'' (1901; also known as: ''Il treno volante'')

Adventures set in the desert and the Middle East

* ''Il re della montagna'' (1895) * ''I predoni del Sahara'' (1903) * ''I briganti del Riff'' (1911) * ''I predoni del gran deserto'' (1911)

Tales of lost cities and great treasures

* ''La scimitarra di Budda'' (1892) * ''La città dell'oro'' (1898) * ''Duemila leghe sotto l'America'' (1888) (also known as ''Il tesoro misterioso'') * ''La montagna di luce'' (1902) * ''Il tesoro della montagna azzurra'' (1907)

Adventures set in Russia

* ''Gli orrori della Siberia'' (1900) * ''L'eroina di Port Arthur'' (1904, also known as ''La Naufragatrice'') * ''Le aquile della steppa'' (1907)

Adventures set in the Old West

* ''Il re della Prateria'' (1896) * ''Il figlio del cacciatore d'orsi'' (1899) * ''Avventure fra le pellirosse'' (1900) * ''La sovrana del campo d'oro'' (1905)

Adventures set in the lands of ice and snow

* ''Nel paese dei ghiacci'' (1896) * ''Al Polo Australe in velocipede'' (1895) * ''Al Polo Nord'' (1898) * ''La Stella Polare e il suo viaggio avventuroso'' (1901; also known as: ''Verso l'Artide con la Stella Polare'') * ''La Stella dell'Araucania'' (1906) * ''Una sfida al Polo'' (1909)

Historical Adventures

* ''Le pantere di Algeri'' (1903) * ''Le figlie dei Faraoni'' (1905) * ''Cartagine in fiamme'' (1908)

Survival stories

* ''I pescatori di balene'' (1894) * ''I Robinson italiani'' (1896) * ''Attraverso l'Atlantico in pallone'' (1896) * ''I minatori dell'Alaska'' (1900) * ''L'uomo di fuoco'' (1904) * ''Il vampiro della foresta'' (1912)

Adventures on the High Seas

* ''Un dramma nell'Oceano Pacifico'' (1895) * ''I naufraghi del Poplador'' (1895) * ''I pescatori di Trepang'' (1896) * ''Gli scorridori del mare'' (1900) * ''I solitari dell'Oceano'' (1904) * ''Sull'Atlante'' (1907)

Adventures set during times of war and revolution

* ''La favorita del Mahdi'' (1887) * ''La capitana del Yucatan'' (1899) * ''Le stragi della China'' (1901; also known as: ''Il sotterraneo della morte'')

Adventures set in Italy

* ''I naviganti della Meloria'' (1902)

Adventures involving time travel

* ''Le meraviglie del Duemila'' (1907)

Autobiographical

* ''La Bohème italiana'' (1909)

References

Bibliography

"Emilio Salgari"
ROH Press, in English. Also includes images from movies and animated series based on his novels.

ROH Press, in English.

* * * * * * *

External links

* * * * * * *
Protagonista aventuras Salgari

The Tiger of Malaysia, Barga News
* *
Angela Valenti Durazzo "Il Corsaro Nero Signore di Ventimiglia"
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Salgari, Emilio Emilio Salgari, 1862 births 1911 suicides Writers from Verona Italian historical novelists Nautical historical novelists Writers of historical fiction set in the early modern period Suicides by sharp instrument in Italy Italian fantasy writers Italian science fiction writers Maritime writers Italian children's writers Italian journalists Italian male journalists Italian male short story writers Italian male novelists 1911 deaths Mythopoeic writers