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Saltblood

An epic historical fiction debut inspired by real life female pirates

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Saltblood

By: Francesca de Tores
Narrated by: Dakota Blue Richards
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Bloomsbury presents Saltblood by Francesca De Tores, read by Dakota Blue Richards.

**WINNER OF THE WILBUR SMITH ADVENTURE WRITING PRIZE **

'A gripping tale of one woman's extraordinary adventures ... Saltblood is a triumph of the imagination'
ELODIE HARPER, author of 'The Wolf Den' trilogy

'A ravishing picaresque told with fireworks, finesse and gusto'
PAUL LYNCH, author of Prophet Song

'A well crafted, salty, old-fashioned adventure about identity and freedom' The Times

In a rented room outside Plymouth in 1685, a daughter is born as her half-brother is dying. Her mother makes a decision: Mary will become Mark, and Ma will continue to collect his inheritance money.

Mary’s dual existence as Mark will lead to a role as a footman in a grand house, serving a French mistress; to the navy, learning who to trust and how to navigate by the stars; and to the army and the battlegrounds of Flanders, finding love among the bloodshed and the mud. But none of this will stop Mary yearning for the sea.

Drawn back to the water, Mary must reinvent herself yet again, for a woman aboard a ship is a dangerous thing. This time Mary will become something more dangerous than a woman.

She will become a pirate.

Breathing life into the Golden Age of Piracy, Saltblood is a wild adventure, a treasure trove, weaving an intoxicating tale of gender and survival, passion and loss, journeys and transformation, through the story of Mary Read, one of history’s most remarkable figures.

'Saltblood is exquisite. The writing is sumptuous and lyrical, the story fascinating'
LOUISE O'NEILL, author of Asking for It and Idol

'Startling, fresh and brilliant'
ANNA MAZZOLA, author of The Clockwork Girl

'A wonderful tale and so exquisitely told ... Master and Commander meets Thelma & Louise'
JAMES OSWALD, author of the ‘Inspector McLean’ series

'A thrilling, gender-shaking roar of a tale every reader will enjoy'
NEIL BLACKMORE, author of Radical Love

'Saltblood is a complete triumph. A glittering jewel of a novel; a treasure chest of delight. I cannot bring myself to put it down' E.S. THOMSON, author of Beloved Poison Genre Fiction Historical Historical Fiction Literary Fiction Literature & Fiction Sea Adventures Inspiring Pirate
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Critic reviews

A ravishing picaresque told with fireworks, finesse and gusto (PAUL LYNCH, author of Prophet Song)
A wholly original vision of a life, Saltblood is not only a gripping tale of one woman's extraordinary adventures, but also a profound meditation on identity, sexuality, survival and what makes us human. The sensory detail of the period is vivid, immersive and sometimes shocking in its intensity. You are on board the ship with Mary, bearing witness to her life, listening to her inimitable voice. Saltblood is a triumph of the imagination (ELODIE HARPER, author of 'The Wolf Den' trilogy)
A wonderful tale and so exquisitely told ... Master and Commander meets Thelma & Louise (JAMES OSWALD, author of the 'Inspector Mclean' series)
Like some great, lost 18th-century adventure novel, Saltblood is a thrilling, gender-shaking roar of a tale every reader will enjoy. Moll Flanders answers back (NEIL BLACKMORE, author of Radical Love)
I was not expecting a story about pirates to be as beautiful as this one; indeed, Saltblood is exquisite. The writing is sumptuous and lyrical, the story fascinating (LOUISE O'NEILL, author of Asking for It and Idol)
An absolute treasure trove of book. Francesca has taken the real story of 18th century female pirates Mary Read and Anne Bonny and woven something startling, fresh and brilliant. Deserves to be huge (ANNA MAZZOLA, author of The Clockwork Girl)
Saltblood is a complete triumph. A glittering jewel of a novel; a treasure chest of delight. I cannot bring myself to put it down it’s so utterly absorbing ... The infamous but scantily documented Mary is rendered so human I am with her on every step of her piratical journey. I adore this book
A well crafted, salty, old-fashioned adventure about identity and freedom
Addictive
A blood-soaked story of piracy and prejudice
An immersive, poignant, hurrah of a feminist tale … Francesca has shown herself to be an exciting new voice in historical fiction
Adventure, intrigue, subterfuge, romance, brilliantly evocative
Exploring gender, survival, friendship, love and identity, this novel is a treasure indeed
Both a gripping read and intellectually and emotionally nuanced ... A rollicking read, a compelling picaresque of journey and challenge and change
A swashbuckling picaresque, with a lively mix of gender-bending adventure and romance
Saltblood is an engrossing, deeply felt historical novel … De Tores's portrayal of Mary is nuanced and riveting, and her prose feels both historically accurate and gorgeously poetic … A joy to read
All stars
Most relevant
This is one of the best books I've listened to this year. Beautifully narrated and the writing is like poetry. Really fascinating story as well. Would definitely recommend

Outstanding

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Story is good, the narration made it just…tedious. No inflection, no animation, no character.

Really bland narration

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Full of adventure and violence, this is a compelling tale of a more non-binary orientated historical figure and her fellow Pirate legends. Mary Read has many names and identities gradually built up from a childhood of being made to impersonate a dead brother. As Mary grows up and finds fortune and troubles as a sailor, soldier and buccaneer, so too does she become less one gender or identity. The story is full of larger than life characters, including a snivelling villain and the entrancing Anne Bonny. A rip roaring story of a life that thrives in salt water, but one that at least tries to meaningfully tackle a more nuanced and complex exploration of gender, race and sexualities in the eighteenth century. As a narrator, Mary is quite serious alongside a brooding companion Crow, and the humour and liveliness of the book are helped in the voices of the diverse crews and companions she spends time with along the way. The stakes are always high for Mary and it's a rich and well told history of a time of war and civil disobedience. of course being a Pirate story, the sea is the other main character, Mary's first and true love and the days on boats and ships is told with gusto and heady detail. Thoughtful and riotous in places.

Breaking Bad - Gender focused story of Pirate Mary Read and company

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First half moved quite well, but I got really bored in the second half (which actually should have been more exciting). I think some heavy editing would improve this no end.

Too long

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An amazing tale of a woman’s struggle to survive in a very brutal man’s world. That it is based on the life of two real women makes it even more astonishing. Poetically written, and unfortunately narrated in the same dreamy manner that many poems are read.

Incredible story

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