Pirates have long fascinated people, yet it was a harsh life for those who went "on the account," constantly overshadowed by the threat of death—through violence, illness, shipwreck, or the hangman’s noose. Helen Hollick explores both the fiction and fact of the Golden Age of piracy, and there are some surprises in store for those who think they know their Barbary Corsair from their boucanier. Everyone has heard of Captain Morgan, but who recognizes the name of the aristocratic Frenchman Daniel Montbars? He killed so many Spaniards he was known as "The Exterminator." The fictional world of pirates, represented in novels and movies, is different from reality. What draws readers and viewers to these notorious hyenas of the high seas? What are the facts behind the fantasy?
