The Real Captain Kidd: A Vindication

Dalton, Cornelius Neale, 1842-1920Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.0

Word count: 284K words
Chapters: 29

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.The Real Captain Kidd: A Vindication by Cornelius Neale DaltonAuthor: Dalton, Cornelius Neale, 1842-1920,Language: English, Class: JX: Political science: International law, Release Date: Mar 27, 2017

Editor's review

This is a vindication by the English author Cornelius Neale Dalton of the legendary pirate Captain Kidd, a historical argument classified under international law and public law. Its value lies not in retelling pirate adventures but in re-examining, through documentary analysis, the accusations, trial, and execution of Kidd, attempting to restore the image of a man caught up in public opinion and politics. Reading it gives access to the historical context in which eighteenth-century British privateering licenses, colonial governance, and judicial trials were intertwined, and shows how a defender organizes evidence and responds to existing charges. For readers accustomed to biographical accounts of historical figures, the book offers a distinctly partisan voice that can be set against the conventional pirate narrative. Note that the argument is openly advocative; readers should keep a critical attitude and treat it as a historical viewpoint rather than a final verdict. The English original is moderate in length and suitable as supplementary reading in maritime history, legal history, or biography writing, and as practice material for reading historical argument in English.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers interested in pirate history, maritime history, and modern British judicial history
Readers of the English original who want to understand the Kidd controversy and the case for his defense
Readers studying how historical figures are evaluated and how biographies are written
Readers with some English proficiency who want to practice on a short historical argument

Not a good fit for

Readers who only want pirate adventure stories and thrilling plots
Readers with weak English who need a Chinese translation
Readers expecting a fully neutral, definitive historical conclusion

Reading tips

Read the table of contents and conclusion first to grasp the author's line of defense, then go back to the evidence
While reading, note the types of sources the author cites, distinguishing factual statements from defensive inference
Read alongside a conventional popular account of Captain Kidd to observe differences in narrative stance
For the English original, read one chapter at a time; with long sentences, identify subject and predicate first, then make notes on key points

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

Is this a novel or a historical argument?

It is a historical argument in the form of a vindication, discussing Captain Kidd's trial and conviction; it is not a fictional novel. It consists mainly of sources and argumentation, so expectations should center on historical viewpoint and method of argument rather than adventure plot.

Is the author's stance objective?

The word "Vindication" in the title signals the author's clear inclination to clear Kidd's name or lessen his stigma. The book selectively organizes material in support of that stance; readers should treat it as a partisan historical voice rather than a neutral verdict.

How difficult is the English original?

The book was written long ago, with long sentences and formal vocabulary, but it is not long overall and is clearly structured. Readers at university English level can finish it with a dictionary; proceed chapter by chapter and take notes on key points.

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About the author

Dalton, Cornelius Neale, 1842-1920 Author

Cornelius Neale Dalton (1842–1920) is an English-language author about whom relatively little biographical information is available. What can be established is that he wrote The Real Captain Kidd: A Vindication, the only work by him held in this collection. Judging from the title and subtitle, the book concerns the image and charges surrounding the seventeenth-century captain William Kidd, and appears intended to rehabilitate a historical figure and reconsider earlier accounts; it thus belongs to the genre of historical character reassessment and critical reading of sources. Because public information is limited, his nationality, education, career and social standing cannot be confirmed and are not inferred here. Readers wishing to understand his style and argument should consult the work itself and assess it alongside relevant historical sources.