''Cup of Gold: A Life of Sir Henry Morgan, Buccaneer, with Occasional Reference to History'' (1929) was John Steinbeck's first novel, a work of historical fiction based loosely on the life and death of 17th-century

privateer A privateer is a private person or ship that engages in maritime warfare under a commission of war. Since robbery under arms was a common aspect of seaborne trade, until the early 19th century all merchant ships carried arms. A sovereign or deleg ...

Henry Morgan Sir Henry Morgan ( cy, Harri Morgan; – 25 August 1688) was a privateer, plantation owner, and, later, Lieutenant Governor of Jamaica. From his base in Port Royal, Jamaica, he raided settlements and shipping on the Spanish Main, becoming we ...

. It centres on Morgan's assault and sacking of

Panama City Panama City ( es, Ciudad de Panamá, links=no; ), also known as Panama (or Panamá in Spanish), is the capital and largest city of Panama. It has an urban population of 880,691, with over 1.5 million in its metropolitan area. The city is locat ...

(the "Cup of Gold"), and the woman (La Santa Roja, or the Red Saint) he seeks there, reputed to be fairer than the sun.

Plot

The novel begins with young Henry on a Welsh farm, listening to Dafydd, an old farm hand who became a pirate and returned to tell of his adventures. The old farm hand tells Old Robert (with Henry listening) his colorful tales of the Caribbean, then leaves by morning. Those stories encourage Henry to leave home to seek his fortune. Henry becomes a famous pirate captain with two goals: to capture Panama from the Spanish, and to win the heart of the Red Saint (La Santa Roja). When Morgan captures Panama, the Red Saint is waiting inside the city. The city is easily taken, but the Red Saint puts up a fight. After Morgan and his crew raid the city, they leave with riches and no Red Saint. Morgan ends his career as a pirate and is knighted by the English King, who places Morgan in charge of disciplining other pirates.Warren G. French. ''Steinbeck’s Fiction Revisited.'' New York: Twayne Publishers, 1994. Twayne’s United States Authors Series 638. Twayne’s Authors on GVRL. Retrieved 2015-04-15.

Release details

*1929, Robert McBride & Co. (First edition) 1537 copies sold, yellow cloth binding *1936, Covici-Friede (Second edition) Maroon cloth binding (939 copies) *1938, Viking Press *1976, Penguin Books *2008, Penguin Books, introduction by Susan F. Beegel, pp

References

External links

* 1929 American novels American historical novels Novels by John Steinbeck Novels set in the Caribbean Novels set in Panama Novels about pirates Novels set in the 17th century Cultural depictions of Henry Morgan 1929 debut novels {{1920s-hist-novel-stub