Rafael Sabatini (1875 - 1950) was an Italian/British writer of novels of romance and adventure. At a young age, Rafael was exposed to many languages. By the time he was seventeen, he was the master of five languages. He quickly added a sixth language - English - to his linguistic collection. After a brief stint in the business world, Sabatini went to work as a writer. He wrote short stories in the 1890s, and his first novel came out in 1902. Sabatini was a prolific writer; he produced a new book approximately every year. He consciously chose to write in his adopted language, because, he said,...

The Sea-Hawk is a novel by Rafael Sabatini. The story is set over the years 1588-1593 and concerns a retired Cornish seafaring gentleman, Sir Oliver Tressilian, who is villainously betrayed by a jealous half-brother. After being forced to serve as a slave on a galley, Sir Oliver is liberated by Barbary pirates. He joins the pirates, gaining the name "Sakr-el-Bahr" (the hawk of the sea), and swears vengeance against his brother. Sir Oliver Tressilian lives at the estate of Penarrow with his brother, Lionel. Oliver is betrothed to Rosamund Godolphin, whose hot-headed brother, Peter, detests the...

The Sea-Hawk Set against the backdrop of the Spanish invasion of England during the reign of Elizabeth I, The Sea Hawk is a classic of the pirate genre. Sir Oliver Tressilian is betrayed by a jealous half-brother and forced to serve as a slave on a galley. He is liberated when the ship is hijacked by Barbary pirates. Sir Oliver joins the pirates, gaining the name "Sakr-el-Bahr" (the hawk of the sea), and swears vengeance against his brother. The book was the basis for The Sea Hawk, the popular 1940 Errol Flynn swashbuckler.