Product Description

Pirates, shipwreck and slavery - these are the key themes in this story of a young Englishman who spent 14 years of his life in captivity in Madagascar. This tale has been more or less lost to sight for centuries, for, although the shipwrecked sailor in question, Robert Drury, wrote a book about his adventures in 1729, it has long been out of print. Parker Pearson and Godden have explored the world of Southern Madagascar in order to track down the truth of his story. At one level, this book is a real-life adventure story with a strong maritime theme; at another, it is a wholly new insight into life on Madagascar and the Tandroy people; and, on yet another level, it is a story of the reality of modern archaeology and anthropology - hard, dirty and frustrating.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #545106 in Books
• Published on: 2002-10-14
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 224 pages

Customer Reviews

True life piracy and shipwrecks
This book is a real gem. Written buy archaeologists it seems to be stuck in that niche but deserves a much wider audience. Set against the well researched and fascinating history of piracy in the Indian Ocean, no one could fail to be fascinated by the tale of Robert Drury's life. The contemporary archaeology and detective work is explained with wit and humour, and constantly interlaced with what it tells us about Drury's life with the Tandroy people in early 18th century Madagascar.