Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for The Lionkeeper of Algiers:
At least you could own a bar.
Quick synopsis:
The story of James Leander Cathcart, who was kidnapped at sea and held for ransom in Algiers.
Fun Fact for Non-History People:
Cathcart was only 8 years old when we became a seaman.
Fun Fact for History Nerds:
Sea towns often had a ridiculous number of widows due to sailing disasters. In 1750 Salem, there were 205 widows out of a total female population of 1,710.
My Take on The Lionkeeper of Algiers:
If you thought your day job was bad, wait until you read about poor James Leander Cathcart. The Lionkeeper of Algiers by Des Ekin tells the story of Cathcart and his ship which are captured by Algerian pirates in 1785. It turns out, being from a brand-new country with no navy means you are a prime target for pirates. The piracy part is actually the most pleasant part of the experience.
Cathcart is an ideal person to follow in this story as he cleverly finds his way out of more and more dangerous situations. He even ends up owning multiple bars in Algiers somehow and rises to the highest post possible for a Christian in the country. Ekin also tells the story of all the American crews taken by pirates in this time period. It is probably evident not all of them fare as well as Cathcart.
This book is very good in a lot of ways. It is a look into a very neglected time in U.S. history to say nothing of the fact that Mediterranean pirates are often only a footnote in history class. I learned a lot about the inner workings of these statelets and how they survived on the labor of prisoners. It was not a great place to be.
The narrative does wander a bit too much. I would have liked if the spotlight stayed on Cathcart more and dug in deeper. I understand there is only so much documentation, but the book both felt short but padded at times. It’s still worth grabbing a copy as it’s an easy read and very informative.
(This book was provided as an advance copy by Netgalley and Rowman & Littlefield.)
Verdict:
A very interesting book about a time often neglected. Read it! Buy it here!
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.