Rafael Sabatini, creator of some of the world’s best-loved heroes, was born in Italy in 1875 to an English mother and Italian father, both well-known opera singers. He was educated in Portugal and Switzerland, but at seventeen moved to England, where, after a brief stint in the business world, he started to write. Fluent in a total of five languages, he nonetheless chose to write in English, claiming that `all the best stories are written in [that language]’.
His writing career was launched with a collection of short stories, followed by several novels. Fame, however, came with `Scaramouche’, the much-loved story of the French Revolution, which became an international bestseller. `Captain Blood’ followed soon after, which resulted in a renewed enthusiasm for his earlier work which were rushed into reprint.
For many years a prolific writer, he was forced to abandon writing in the 1940’s through illness and eventually died in 1950.
Sabatini is best remembered for his heroic characters and high-spirited novels, many of which have been adapted into classic films, including Scaramouche, Captain Blood and The Sea Hawk. They appeal to both a male and female audience with drama, romance and action, all placed in historical settings.
It was once stated in the `Daily Telegraph’ that `one wonders if there is another storyteller so adroit at filling his pages with intrigue and counter-intrigue, with danger threaded with romance, with a background of lavish colour, of silks and velvets, of swords and jewels.’
