#rafael sabatini

[schweizercomics]

SWASHTOBER #1: Scaramouche! I'm gonna do SWASHTOBER this year! Here's the first, from what might well be the best swashbuckling novel (it's VERY good), SCARAMOUCHE, by Rafael Sabatini. He's a centrist shaken from his political apathy into a path of revolution, swordfighting, and improv comedy by the cruel machinations of the aristocracy (I wasn't planning to do an October drawing challenge BUT If I keep them under ten minutes and let them be sloppy, it might be fun. I'll use them as roughs/pencils for a set when my schedule frees up a bit)

This is one of the few (only?) Sabatinis that have been kept reliably in print, and there's also an excellent audiobook narration by Simon Vance, if you're looking for a good read!

[popculturelib]

Do you prefer your books horizontal or vertical?

Armed Services Editions (ASEs) were softcover paperbacks distributed to American soldiers during World War II. After campaigns to collect donated books for soldiers fell through -- in part due to books' large size and hardback covers -- the Council on Books in Wartime (CBW) developed a plan to print pocket-sized softcovers of hundreds of books and deliver them to overseas soldiers.

Many ASEs were printed on presses normally used for magazines, which were too large for soldiers' pockets, so publishers printed two copies per magazine page and cut them in half, resulting in the horizontal format. Seen here are two paperback copies of Rafael Sabatini's Captain Blood (printed in 1945 and 1940, respectively) for comparison.

The books chosen for ASEs were a wide range of subjects and genres, including fiction and non-fiction, and were hugely popular among soldiers -- many authors received large quantities of fan mail from soldiers who credit them with keeping up morale during the war. The success of ASEs encouraged publishers to print more softcover books after the end of the war, leading to the mass-market paperback industry still seen today.

For more information about Armed Services Editions, or these specific editions of Captain Blood, check out the books below:

Books In Action: The Armed Services Editions (1984) ed. by John Y. Cole

When Books Went to War: The Stories that Helped Us Win World War II (2014) by Molly Guptill Manning

Captain Blood: His Odyssey (1940), published by Pocket Books

Captain Blood (1945), published by Editions for the Armed Services

The Browne Popular Culture Library (BPCL), founded in 1969, is the most comprehensive archive of its kind in the United States.  Our focus and mission is to acquire and preserve research materials on American Popular Culture (post 1876) for curricular and research use. Visit our website at https://www.bgsu.edu/library/pcl.html.

[octavodecimo]

Please people. Read Scaramouche by Rafael Sabatini. It’s a beautiful blend of French Revolution, a lawyer protagonist that gets caught up in it by accident (not really) AND MORE!

[catofadifferentcolor]

“He was born with a gift of laughter and a sense that the world was mad.” 

― Rafael Sabatini, Scaramouche

[aylinnworld]

Scaramouche - Rafael Sabatini

I have been reading and listening to this book/audiobook recently. And I must say I really like how good an adventure story it is.

Mostly due to how the main character manages to deal with problems, with his intelligence and resourcefulness, bonus sarcastic and witty remarks. He learns new skills which help him and the main character comes across a badass because of it but it is not overdone.

He has plans and dreams, but not everything goes as he would like or planned.

Bad luck befalls him, but he is able to turn bad luck into an opportunity. It is even stated plainly in the story that this is the way to go for a story rather than getting depressed for a long time about the situation. And it is sure a very good idea for an adventure story that needs action and not too much moping about unpleasant events.

The main character is not perpetually in the right. The author shows how the main character makes assumptions which are wrong.

It would be nice if some authors remembered about this need of balancing the badassery of their character, so they do not come across as overpowered/forever right Gary Stu or Mary Sue. cough Akatsuki no Yona cough.

[books-and-sadness]

got a new book today captain blood by rafael sabatini

the weird horizontal format is because the armed services editions were printed for cheap on magazine presses two at a time then cut across the middle to separate the books. tons of them were given free to usa service men in the second world war as a moral boosting kind of thing.

im going to have to be a little bit careful reading it not to tear the pages near the staple but its in pretty good condition all things considered.

seems a pretty cool book i haven't looked too much into the story but looks like a classic tale of adventure. ill probably read it as soon as I'm done with my current one.

[multifru196]

Captain Blood: His Odyssey by Rafael Sabatini

[ent-maiden]

Arabella Bishop from Captain Blood

I don't really know why a lot of people apparently don't like her. She is one of my favorite female characters and I really relate to her. I feel like in her position I would do a lot of the same things. I think we have very similar personalities. Yes, she was mean, but she made a lot of misjudgements. And she was misjudged. Like Elizabeth from Pride and Prejudice, lol.

ANYWAY HERE IS THE COUPLE WITH SERIOUS COMMUNICATION ISSUES

now kiss

[travsd]

Three Great Books for Show Biz Lovers

Quite coincidentally, three slim and tasteful tomes have made their way to my mailbox (the real one, not the virtual) within the space of a week, so I thought it made sense to bundle them together into a single post. The one thing they have in common is that they should all be of interest to classic show biz lovers! Rafael Sabatini is best known today for the many movies that have been adapted…

[jaemstudies]

doing research for my capstone and tell me why rafael sabatini looks like he saw some ghosts and ghouls while getting his picture done

like.  man looks Haunted

[wellconstructedsentences]

He was born with a gift of laughter and a sense that the world was mad.

Scaramouche by Rafael Sabatini

[rintarie]

Peter Blood the man that you are

the guy is just on another level. he had like 3 conversations with a woman and only one of them was without mutual teasing. he then names his SHIP after her.

his crew begs him to accept service as a privateer since as former slaves they don't have many options. he wants to but the thought of her theoretical disapproval drives him mad.

he knows he'd probably never see Arabella (aka the woman he's in love with) again so he decides to set her as an example of high morals to guide him through his pirate era

and all of this is happening in like. one page.

[rwpohl]

other europe, tim roberts 1988

[thegothiclibrary]

The Hypnotic Tales of Rafael Sabatini Review

I have a deep appreciation for literary scholars who aim to draw once-popular but now obscure authors out of the shadows and back into the light for a new generation of readers to discover! Donald K. Hartman does just this with The Hypnotic Tales of Rafael Sabatini, which came out last year. This is the third installment in Hartman’s series of books that highlight the role of hypnotism in late…

[pageadaytale]

12 Days of Bookmas Day 3!

Day 3 – Scaramouche by Rafael Sabatini

Today we look at another classic, one I hadn’t heard of but which intrigued me. Scaramouche tells the story of lawyer Andre-Louis Moreau, a layabout who refuses to take sides in the great debates of the day – class struggle, inequality, revolution. When his friend is killed by a calculating and vicious Marquis, he uses his sharp tongue and quick wit to inspire the public to act against the nobility and sets the stage for the French Revolution. Now a wanted man, he joins a troupe of travelling actors, before going to Paris and learning the art of the sword. However politics calls to him once more, and in it he sees a route to revenge against the dreaded Marquis!

It’s a tale of political intrigue, adventure, and romance, and it plays out like the commedia dell’arte plays Moreau ends up writing. It’s a highbrow soap opera, with family drama in amongst tracts about politics, business, love, and revolution, and it’s one of my favourite books in this dozen.

[aylinnworld]

Scaramouche - Rafael Sabatini

I have finished this one and it was a nice adventure story. The main character is intelligent and entertaining with his attitude towards life and creativity to solve problems. Not everything goes as he wanted to, but ultimately everything turns out well for him as can be expected.

The climax of the story is good because it makes sense and is emotional. The buildup is there, and it is easy to figure out what will be the big reveal in the climax, even if the main character has no clue.

But for me it is fine that he didn't, since the easiest way to guess the reveal comes from meta level, so for reader only two characters make sense while for the character it could have been any male and female who have appropriate age.

More enjoyable than stories that try-hard at surprising the viewer with plot twists out of nowhere. The only thing Sabatini could have done was to introduce more characters into the story that would fit certain criteria who would serve as a red herring.