Captain Blood is the protagonist of Rafael Sabatini’s adventure series, set in the seventeenth-century Caribbean. Born Peter Blood, he is an Irish physician who is convicted of treason for treating a wounded rebel after the Monmouth Rebellion, sold into slavery in Barbados, and escapes to become one of the most feared pirates in the Caribbean.
What makes Blood unusual among fictional pirates is that he never wanted the life. He is a doctor and a gentleman forced into outlawry, and he maintains his principles even while commanding a pirate fleet. His intelligence, dry humor, and refusal to become the villain his circumstances demand have made him one of the most enduring characters in adventure fiction. The Captain Blood series collects all three novels in reading order.
Reading Order#
See the complete Captain Blood reading order for all books in the series.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Captain Blood?
Captain Blood is the fictional name of Peter Blood, an Irish physician who is wrongfully convicted after the Monmouth Rebellion of 1685 and sold into slavery in Barbados. He escapes, captures a Spanish ship, and becomes one of the most successful pirates in the Caribbean — a reluctant outlaw who never loses his sense of justice.
How many books feature Captain Blood?
Captain Blood appears in three books by Rafael Sabatini: Captain Blood (1922), Captain Blood Returns (1931), and The Fortunes of Captain Blood (1936).
Why is Captain Blood considered a classic character?
Peter Blood is one of the defining figures of adventure fiction. He is educated, principled, and witty, forced into piracy by injustice rather than greed. The 1935 film adaptation starring Errol Flynn made the character iconic, and the original novel has never gone out of print.