The secret life of pirates

Learn the truth about the real pirates of the Caribbean and the Mediterranean, and write your own horrible pirate histories with Kelly Gardiner, author of the Swashbuckler! trilogy.

We’ll look at some of the most famous pirates and their flags, ships, weapons – even their clothes. How did pirates talk? Do pieces of eight and dead men’s chests really exist? How much pirate history comes from authors like Robert Louis Stevenson and his Treasure Island? What’s true, what’s invented, and what mysteries still remain to be solved?

The session is designed to introduce students to ideas of history, research and the writing process, through the exciting tales of real pirates. It covers:

• True stories from pirate history and key examples: Blackbeard, Jack Rackham, the Knights of Malta, Mary Read & Ann Bonney.
• Overview of pirate life: strategies, flags, treasure, stories.
• Impact of the imagination. Influence of Robert Louis Stevenson and Daniel Defoe on Talk like a pirate day, Pirates of the Caribbean, Hollywood pirates.
• Research: an author’s journey to find out the truth about pirates and the history and places that inform the Swashbuckler books.
• How we write: drafting, revising, fact-checking, editing, publishing processes.
• Student writing/drawing activity: creating a pirate character.