Cup of Gold: A Life of Sir Henry Morgan, Buccaneer, with Occasional Reference to History

by John Steinbeck

Paperback, 1995

Status

Available

Call number

808

Genres

Collection

Your library

Publication

Penguin Classics (1995), Edition: 1st THUS, Paperback, 240 pages

Description

From the mid-1650s through the 1660s, Henry Morgan, a pirate and outlaw of legendary viciousness, ruled the Spanish Main. He ravaged the coasts of Cuba and America, striking terror wherever he went. Morgan was obsessive. He had two driving ambitions: to possess the beautiful woman called La Santa Roja and to conquer Panama, the "cup of gold."

User reviews

LibraryThing member JBreedlove

Steinbeck's first published novel and only work of historical fiction. It is the story of the pirate Henry Morgan and his destructionof the Spanish in Panama.

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LibraryThing member LibraryLou

I was hoping for a really good read about his Pirate adventures but it seemed to skip that bit. A good book, but disappointing.

LibraryThing member beabatllori

Thank GOD this is over.

LibraryThing member weird_O

Cup of Gold is John Steinbeck's retelling of the life of notorious 17th century British pirate Henry Morgan, taking us from his farmboy beginnings to his triumphant plunderings of the Spanish main and his docile end back in England. Steinbeck's premise is that Morgan prevailed because he studied

his targets, developed a plan of attack for each raid, and established and maintained strict discipline over his crews. His seizure of Panama—the Cup of Gold—was no naval operation, rather a land war. He pursues the fabled La Santa Roja—is she the woman of his dreams?—driving his men across the isthmus. Yes, he captures her, and, yeah, you won't believe what happens next.

Cup of Gold is a decent, easy read, at just under 200 pages. The most notable features: it's Steinbeck's first novel, published in 1928, and his only historical novel. I enjoyed it, had no trouble sticking with it, but there's many another seafaring novel I'd recommend before this one.

Why did I read it? I was sorting and cataloging the books on my shelves, consolidating my Steinbacks from various locations. Cup of Gold was in my hands, didn't seem at all familiar, didn't seem it'd be a task to read, so I read. No regrets.

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LibraryThing member BenKline

Steinbeck's first published novel; about the life of Sir Captain Henry Morgan. It's an interesting novel, a bit slow and ponderous at times with some narrative side-bars that don't fit into the whole of the novel. You can definitely tell it's his first novel in it's pacing, construction, and tones;

but you can certainly see the skill level of Steinbeck and see the aspects of the future 'Of Mice and Men', 'East of Eden', 'Grapes of Wrath', author in there. You also get to see him play around with Merlin and his love for Arthur/Arthurian tales and some of his narrative themes.

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LibraryThing member BrokenTune

Cup of Gold had all the elements that promised an enjoyable read for me: Steinbeck, pirates, historical fiction.

And, yet, I was so bored.

Apparently, this is Steinbeck's first novel. Knowing this, I can forgive the book some of the tediousness and lack of message, but still, knowing what Steinbeck

is capable of creating in his later books makes it difficult to like this book any better.

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LibraryThing member chrisblocker

I honestly expected to absolutely hate Steinbeck's first published novel. I've heard several warnings about how terrible it is. Perhaps these warnings only buoyed my opinion.

Cup of Gold certainly is far from the author's greatest works, but it's probably not his worst. In fact, this one gets off to

a decent start as young Henry must grapple with his desire for adventure. His conflict with his parents regarding his future and the subsequent life of servitude were the novel's highlights. It's when "the adventure begins" that the pacing gets wonky and the story starts to drag.

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