''Columbus'' is a romantic adventure novel by the British writer

Rafael Sabatini Rafael Sabatini (29 April 1875 – 13 February 1950) was an Italian people, Italian-born British writer of novels, writer of romance novel, romance and adventure novel, adventure novels. He is best known for his worldwide bestsellers: ''The Sea ...

which was first published in 1941. It depicts the life of

Christopher Columbus Christopher Columbus (; between 25 August and 31 October 1451 – 20 May 1506) was an Italians, Italian explorer and navigator from the Republic of Genoa who completed Voyages of Christopher Columbus, four Spanish-based voyages across the At ...

at the Spanish court, his voyages across the Atlantic Ocean in which he discovered the

Americas The Americas, sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North America and South America.''Webster's New World College Dictionary'', 2010 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio. When viewed as a sing ...

and his relationship with the mother of his second son Beatriz Enríquez de Arana, whom he never married. Sabatini had originally been commissioned to write a

screenplay A screenplay, or script, is a written work produced for a film, television show (also known as a '' teleplay''), or video game by screenwriters (cf. ''stage play''). Screenplays can be original works or adaptations from existing pieces of w ...

for a planned film of Columbus around 1939. The project was continually delayed, and in 1941 Sabatini published his story as a novel instead. The story is in the style of his previous works '' Captain Blood'' and '' The Sea Hawk'', which had already been adapted into hit films, and portrayed Columbus as a

swashbuckler A swashbuckler is a genre of European adventure literature that focuses on a heroic protagonist stock character who is skilled in swordsmanship, acrobatics, and guile, and possesses chivalrous ideals. A "swashbuckler" protagonist is heroic, ...

Film adaptation

In the late 1940s, the projected Columbus film was revived with strong support from the

Rank Organisation The Rank Organisation (founded as the J. Arthur Rank Organisation) is a British entertainment conglomerate founded in 1937 by industrialist J. Arthur Rank. It quickly became the largest and most vertically integrated film company in the Uni ...

who intended it as a prestige project targeted at the U.S. market. It was produced by

Sydney Box Frank Sydney Box (29 April 1907 – 25 May 1983) was a British film producer and screenwriter, and brother of British film producer Betty Box. In 1940, he founded the documentary film company Verity Films with Jay Lewis. He produced and co- ...

and made in

Technicolor Technicolor is a family of Color motion picture film, color motion picture processes. The first version, Process 1, was introduced in 1916, and improved versions followed over several decades. Definitive Technicolor movies using three black-and ...

with the American actor

Fredric March Fredric March (born Ernest Frederick McIntyre Bickel; August 31, 1897 – April 14, 1975) was an American actor, regarded as one of Hollywood's most celebrated stars of the 1930s and 1940s.Obituary '' Variety'', April 16, 1975, page 95. As ...

cast as Columbus. Box was unhappy with Sabatini's script, which he considered historically inaccurate and overly romantic.Murphy p.130-131 Box and his wife

Muriel Box Violette Muriel Box, Baroness Gardiner, (22 September 1905 – 18 May 1991) was an English screenwriter and director, Britain's most prolific female director, having directed 12 feature films and one featurette. Her screenplay for '' The Sevent ...

extensively rewrote the screenplay aiming at greater realism at the expense of Sabatini's swashbuckling style. On its release, the film was poorly received by critics and was unsuccessful at the box office.

References

External links

* 1941 British novels British adventure novels Novels set in Spain Novels set in the 1490s Fiction about Christopher Columbus' first voyage Cultural depictions of Isabella I of Castile British novels adapted into films Adventure novels adapted into films Novels by Rafael Sabatini Hutchinson (publisher) books {{1940s-adventure-novel-stub

Film adaptation

References

Further reading

External links