I have always thought of Rafael Sabatini as a
member of a special trinity. Like the other two members John Buchan and Anthony
Hope, he provided food and fuel for the imagination and a chance to escape from
the mundane world. He gave a taste of romance, excitement and adventure, often
in glamorous and historic settings, to people who had little chance of getting
anything like it in real life.
John Buchan was also born in 1875, and by
coincidence there are significant occasions in February for all three men: Anthony
Hope was born on February 9th; John Buchan died on February 11th and Rafael
Sabatini died on February 13th.
I put Rafael Sabatini above Anthony Hope and
below John Buchan when it comes to both my enjoyment of their books and finding
them a good source of material for articles about unseen influences.
Previous references
Although his books do not inspire commentary the
way John Buchan’s do, Rafael Sabatini has been mentioned in a few articles. His
wise words about equality have been quoted; the tragic deaths of his son and step-son and his obvious favouring of heroes with black hair over their
rivals with blond hair have also been discussed.
To mark the occasion, I want to say a little
more about Sabatini and his books.
Sabatini the successful writer
Rafael Sabatini was half Italian by birth. He
was a voracious reader, interested in many subjects. He put much of what he had
learned into his books. He said this:
“The only good in life is study, because
study is an endeavor that never reaches fulfillment. It busies a man to the end
of his days, and it aims at the only true reality in all this world of shams
and deceits.”
- From Bellarion the Fortunate
This is telling me what I want to hear!
He knew several languages. He said this:
"All the best stories are written in
English."
He gave something back by making many high
quality contributions of his own to English literature.
His writing made him rich and famous. He was
published in the famous Strand Magazine on several occasions. It speaks for
itself that he gets top billing in this copy from 1940, even above Agatha
Christie:
The attractions of the books
As is obvious from his books, Rafael Sabatini
had an impressive knowledge of history. He also offers romance, political
intrigue and swashbuckling adventures. He both educates and entertains his
readers.
Many of his readers prefer stories that
involve pirates on the high seas and plenty of swordplay; I like them too, but
I particularly like the stories that feature imposters, secret agents, double
agents, fooling the enemy and bluff and double bluff. This type of intrigue
reminds me of John Buchan’s Greenmantle and the need to hide real intentions
and allegiances and keep the cover stories straight.
It is of interest that both Buchan and Sabatini worked for British Intelligence services.
It is of interest that both Buchan and Sabatini worked for British Intelligence services.
I find it amusing to read about the men with
black hair who triumph over their blond rivals. I remember that one of the
blond men signed his letter to the young woman they were fighting over, ‘None
manlier’!
Book covers
There are many images of Sabatini’s books to
be found online. Many of the covers do not do justice to the stories within.
They look crudely-drawn, cheap and sensational to me, very different from some
of the well-designed, high quality covers of John Buchan’s books.
The first Sabatini book I ever read was The
Sea-Hawk. I still think of it as one of his best. There are numerous editions;
here is one of the better covers:
Information about Rafael Sabatini can be
found here, and many of Sabatini’s works can be found on Project Gutenberg.
