Product Description

Set in Ireland, the Carolinas, and the pirate-infested Caribbean waters of the 1700s, and inspired by actual historical accounts, this is the tale of Anne Bonney, the unlikely pirate who disguised herself as a man and fought side-by-side with a notorious band of rogues plundering ships around the Spanish Main.

Pirate Spirit follows Bonney from her beginnings as an illegitimate child, to her volatile coming-of-age as a misbegotten aristocrat, rebellious daughter, and hot-tempered teen. But it is her transformation to a cutthroat pirate who pined for seafaring adventure, enduring love, and the lasting bonds of friendship that showcases Bonney’s true spirit. Author Jeffery S. Williams provides insight into Bonney’s relationships with the people closest to her—her mother and father, her guardian angel Edward, her friend Mary, and her husband James—and the vital roles each played in shaping her life.

Rife with intrigue, poignancy, and humor, Pirate Spirit is a vivid portrayal of a young woman’s odyssey from youth to adulthood as she seeks purpose and grace.

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Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #224399 in Books
• Published on: 2007-07-30
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 240 pages

About the Author
Jeffery S. Williams worked as a journalist and freelance writer and is currently a high school English teacher. He lives in Fresno, California, with his wife and son. Pirate Spirit is his first novel.

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Customer Reviews

Williams is certainly a talented writer and each piece of Pirate Spirit: The Adventures of Anne Bonney is well-crafted.
High school English teacher Jeffery S. Williams, who has worked as a journalist and freelance writer, cuts his creative teeth with his debut novel Pirate Spirit: The Adventures of Anne Bonney. The novel focuses on Anne Bonney, one of history's most infamous female pirates, who along with another well-known female pirate, Mary Reade, plied their illegal trade in the dangerous infested waters of the Caribbean during the Golden Age of Piracy in the early 1700s.

Williams succeeds in achieving gripping narrative tension as he deftly paints the character of Anne Bonney's life beginning in Ireland where she was born out of a scandalous adulterous affair to Peg Brennan who had been the uneducated chambermaid to William McCormack, a nobleman of considerable means.

Her early years were not exactly pleasant as she was constantly taunted by her well heeled classmates and called "illegitimate, a bastard, a whore's daughter, and a harlap's whelp." The one bright light in her life was her uncle Edward, whom she adored and who was always offering her advice on honesty, dignity, discipline and tolerance, until one day all of his counsel changed her forever.

Bonney had been attacked by a ferocious dog and only due to the quick heroic intervention of her uncle was she saved from certain death. This event instilled in her a toughness that helped her cope with many of her future trials and tribulations she would face as she vowed never to accept the role of a victim.

From Ireland, Anne traveled with her mother, father and uncle across the Atlantic to the New World where on board ship she would hide and listen in on the fascinating sailors' conversations describing the natives who inhabited the Carolinas, the slaves who were brought to America to work the plantations and the roving pirates. As she learns, the latter were "beholden to no nation, sea-robbers who roamed the oceans in search of ships to attack and plunder."

Settling in Charles Towne, and after the death of her mother, Anne experiences her first pirate encounter when the famous Blackbeard blockaded the port of Charles Towne, robbing eight vessels and bringing shipping to a standstill. Anne was fascinated by the pirates whose bravery she admired as well as their freedom to live on the open water even though they terrorized people and broke the law without fear of punishment. It was also during the blockade that Anne noticed the well-groomed Jack Rackham, a consort to Blackbeard, with whom she later runs off with after jilting her husband James Bonney. However, prior to her amorous entanglement with Rackham, we learn of Anne's initial fondness for her husband, James, who bewitched her with the talk of the ocean and piracy. Unfortunately for James, he wasn't exactly the husband Anne bargained for and he quickly lost her respect, particularly when he became a lackey and snitch for the Governor of the Island.

As the story builds to an exciting conclusion, we read about the unique and mysterious relationship between Anne and Rackham and how Anne joins Rackham in his pirate adventures, initially deceiving him into believing she is a man and eventually revealing her secret. When Anne insists that she participate with Rackham in his illicit adventures, she is informed that there are no female pirates, as it is bad luck to have women aboard a pirate's ship.

However after some reconsideration Rackham accepts her as part of his crew disguised as Edward O'Malley Brennan, the name of her dear uncle. Anne was by day a pirate, and by night the paramour. Throughout her various escapades, Anne proves herself to be a worthy pirate engaging in various dangerous battles and holding her own, effectively participating in the looting and plundering of ships and dividing up the spoils without the slightest hint that she was a female. Nonetheless, although she loved the high seas and the adventure, she abhorred the greed, murders and grotesque actions of the men which are all vividly described.

Williams is certainly a talented writer and each piece of Pirate Spirit: The Adventures of Anne Bonney is well-crafted. Taking acceptable dramatic liberties, his observations and scenes are dazzling as he immerses his readers in the New World of the 1700s with his vivid descriptions of the sights, dangers, sounds and atrocities of the era, as if he was recounting a recent trip.

He is also very gifted in creating composite fictional characters while compressing events in order to stitch the action together more coherently. Moreover, he has a keen hand with characterization particularly with Anne and Rackham who are realistically drawn and laden with their flaws and internal conflicts.

And, as we learn from his Acknowledgements, with the aid of his wife Katherine's intuition and discernment into the human psyche, he effectively succeeds in comprehending the mysterious, romantic ways and whims of the feminine spirit. As he mentions in the opening pages, it certainly is a challenge for a man to consider writing from a woman's point of view, something he probably could not have done without his wife's aid and input.

We must be thankful to have novelists like Williams for their meticulous research skills and superb talent to reconstruct the past in a way that is entertaining and at the same time highly illuminating that make history come alive.

Norm Goldman, Publisher & Editor Bookpleasures

Lively Pirate Tale with a Deeper Message
Pirates are more popular than ever these days, perhaps owing in part to a certain blockbuster summer film. However, most mothers of sons have known for years the male fascination with all things pirate. I've sewn at least two pirate costumes, refereed more than my fair share of sword fights and read numerous story books aloud in my best "matey" voice. So I was prepared to enjoy Pirate Spirit: The Adventures of Anne Bonney (iUniverse, July, 2007, paperback, 244 pages), the inaugural work of novelist Jeffery S. Williams.

What I wasn't expecting was to be uplifted and inspired along the way - to emerge from the literary romp with the sense that somehow, amidst the pages of the really entertaining story I'd just read, I'd walk away edified. Jeffery Williams, supported effectively by his wife Katherine Williams, gives voice so convincingly to main character Anne Bonney that you'd swear he's actually a lusty wench. When I met him in person and learned that he is in point of fact a high school English teacher, I was even more impressed by his writing prowess.

Pirate Spirit is the tale of a one young Irish woman's transition into the world of pirates during the 1700s. Inspired by historical accounts, Williams fleshes out Bonney's tale with great gusto and flair. Readers with a certain sensibility may blush at some of the book's more spicy scenes, but they seem essential to the book's characters and their circumstances. You should be forewarned that the book does contain some language, adult themes and violence which may be offensive to some readers. However, Williams does not seem to write gratuitously or for mere "shock value". I found myself falling hard for Anne Bonney and her comrades, and rooting solidly for her ultimate transformation from strong-willed girl to plundering pirate to graceful woman.

No doubt aided by his incredible font of knowledge of literature, Williams spreads layers of deeper themes and references between the fast paced pages of action and adventure.

I just had to jump aboard!
I ended up staying up for hours to read this book when I should have been sleeping instead. I couldn't wait to see what happened next. Each chapter was filled with adventure, witty humor, love, and attempts to satisfy many insatiable hearts. As a recent graduate from college going through transition on an annual basis (so far), I can absolutely relate in terms of seeking for the kind of adventure that Anne sought to satisfy her heart. I may not be a pirate, but my desire to find that something that can help me to see more of the world, to give what I can to make this world my playground, to find that soulmate that will be my other half with dignity, strength, integrity, honor, and the desire to jump out of the bubble that so many people want to put me under as a female in a male dominant world-- I can relate. It was a page turner that made me wanna go back to reading it again. Williams did an amazing job creating many unforgettable scenes with vivid imagery and lively dialogues. It was a novel that included everything from growing pains, survival of the fittest, love, hatred, forgiveness and sacrifice-- everything a great book should have.