The Edinburgh Pirate

Canongate, 1980. Hardcover. Very Good/Very Good. 5.5" X 8.75. H/B 136 pages, condition is Very Good. Written as a historical novel this book is an account of a notorious miscarriage of justice which took place in Edinburgh at the beginning of the eighteenth century. By quirk of time and place, a handful of seamen find themselves the centre of an international incident. Should the Captain and the first mate of the English ship Worcester be hung so as to pacify the ugly demands of the Edinburgh mob? Tension mounts as the Scottish Parliament meets to make the final decision. But fine legal principles conflict harshly with personal ambitions and political realities. Amidst a sea of intrigue and cowardice, there is the humane and honourable character of James Ogilvy, Chancellor Seafield. Almost alone he makes a desperate effort to find a just solution and save the Englishmen from the gallows- or even worse, the hungry clutches of the bloodthirsty mob. This sweeping and dramatic story is all the more compelling by being based on events that actually happened. In his painstaking research the author has uncovered much material that had long been neglected or forgotten.