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Drake: The Life and Legend of an Elizabethan Hero
by Stephen Coote

Perhaps unlike any other pirate in history, Sir Francis Drake enjoys a near sterling reputation. A British national hero as well as skilled navigator and explorer, it’s easy to see why Drake is difficult to place in the same category as the likes of Blackbeard, Kidd, or the Lafittes. That he sat rather comfortably beneath the umbrella of “privateer” rather than overt piracy only keeps the tarnish off his name all the more.

Author Stephen Coote follows Drake from his early years serving under John Hawkins, through his circumnavigation of the globe aboard the “Golden Hind,” his famous knighting, and on to his eventual death. Drake’s life is already a thoroughly written subject, and as such few major points will be new to the well-read pirate-enthusiast, although Continue reading →