A General History of the Robberies and Murders of the Most Notorious Pirates

What it is

The 1724 classic that created most of what we picture when we think of Golden Age pirates — biographies of Blackbeard, Bartholomew Roberts, Anne Bonny, Mary Read and others. No one knows who "Captain Charles Johnson" really was. This Folio Society edition follows the 1728 text with modernised spelling, period illustrations, and an introduction by Margarette Lincoln.

Why it matters

It is the founding source for pirate history and pirate legend alike, written within living memory of the men it describes. Pirates raided the same Spanish treasure trade that fills our coin trays, and this is where the story — true and embellished — starts.

Who it's for

Readers who want the original pirate source rather than a retelling, and collectors interested in the Golden Age of piracy behind the Whydah and the treasure trade. Read it as a period account, not settled fact.