The Pirates! is a series of books that follows a group of pirates on their adventures. Based on this description alone, one imagines the same tales of nautical mayhem that so many of us have enjoyed since childhood: pirate booty, maybe some mermaids, and daring sword fights galore. Gideon Defoe throws those conventions of the genre out the window, however. He creates something, which simply put, is fucking hysterical. The best way I can describe it is to allude to Monty Python. It’s all very silly and nonsensical and historically inaccurate, sure, but masterfully clever and sharp as well.
What initially attracted me to Gideon Defoe’s The Pirates! In an Adventure with Scientists (the first book in the series) was the authors blurb.
“Gideon Defoe, who lives in London, is twenty-eight. He wrote The Pirates! to convince a woman to leave her boyfriend for him. She didn't.”
The book itself is a very easy read, but if you’re going into The Pirates! looking for a challenge, you’re not doing it right. The book revolves around the Pirate Captain, a man with a beard that is silky and in good condition despite his long months at sea and an obsession for ham. Afraid that his crew will grow tired from lack of adventure, he inadvertently leads them to attack the Beagle, the ship that took Charles Darwin on his trip to the Galapagos. Having sunk their ship, the Pirate Captain then agrees to take Darwin back home and help him defeat the rival scientist that’s had him exiled, resulting in comedic genius.
As I’m sure by now my love for the books is evident, it’s with some excitement that I received the news that Aardman Animation (of Wallace & Gromit fame) in conjunction with Sony will bring us a film version of The Pirates! this March. Marketed as The Pirates! Band of Misfits stateside, the movie features some pretty impressive voice talent, namely Hugh Grant as the Pirate Captain and David Tennant as Charles Darwin. Also expect The Pirates! In an Adventure with Romantics, the fifth book in the series, early this year.
Sarah McBride’s thoughts on music, film, lit and life can be found at sarahism.com. You can follow her on twitter @sarahism.