Cup of Gold | Litsy

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

so-so

This was just okay for Steinbeck. It's his first book. It seemed really disconnected. I was looking for a good pirate adventure, but this wasn't it. There are some good tidbits of history regarding Henry Morgan. The introduction in this edition was informative, but full of spoilers.

7 likes

CrowCAH

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

#WishesBlessings #Gold

Captain Henry Morgan, governor of Jamaica!

Eggs, Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks

Libby1 I thought this was an odd little book, and so unlike his other work. I didn‘t dislike it but found it surprising. 3y

Eggs Cleverš§�š§� 3y

CrowCAH @Libby1 I‘ve only read one other book of his, Of Mice and Men, but not this one. It might have been the difference between fiction and nonfiction. 3y

CrowCAH @Eggs it had gold in the title š‰ 3y

56 likes4 comments

Graywacke

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

so-so

Pictured is the original cover from August 1929 (not my copy!). The stock market crashed in October.

An odd mess of a first novel - an allegory for American capitalism that can‘t decide if it wants to be a boys‘ adventure novel or a deeper thing. Some good, some curious, some very awkward. I was struck by how arrogant this author must have been.

35 likes

Graywacke

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

I don‘t want to carry my old edition of Nabokov‘s Ada around, so I‘ve started this paperback to read at my lunch breaks. Steinbeck‘s first novel from 1929. (I just saw one Litsy review that said it shows the racism of its time. Eek. Hope i didn‘t choose too poorly here.)

Cathythoughts It can only be good to go there š‘¨š¸»ā¯¤ļø¸ good luck & i hopes it‘s good 3y

Cathythoughts The title is brilliant 3y

Graywacke @Cathythoughts it‘s been entertaining so far. It‘s like almost an obnoxious adventure story, except the author insists on little elegant detours observing the world around and the sky. 3y

46 likes3 comments

Libby1

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

pick

What an odd, odd book.

This is Steinbeck‘s first novel, and his sole foray into historical fiction. Set late in the 17th century in Wales and the West Indies, and written in the 1920s, it has a lot of gross racism and sexism. In both cases, I suppose it was of its time.

The writing is sometimes gorgeous, which makes up for a meandering plot. It pushes this book into the Pick category.

Also, this cover from 1969 is wonderfully craptastic!

LauraJ Craptastic, indeed! 5y

DivineDiana Yes it is! 5y

Smrloomis Oh that cover! š† 5y

73 likes1 stack add3 comments

HotCocoaReads

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

pick

Steinbeck‘s first novel definitely foretells of brilliance to come, but this book isn‘t his best. It is his only historical-fiction novel, which probably holds him back since he has to follow the life of Henry Morgan, a pirate of the 1600s. Still, there are some beautiful descriptions throughout and I‘m glad I read it.

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