Pirates 'n' Pistols: Ten Swashbuckling Pirate Tales

It’s a bit of cliche to describe a collection of short stories as a ‘treasure trove’, but in this case it’s entirely appropriate. With tales that range from Mould’s own inventions, such as the opening story which speculates on the origin of the legend of Davy Jones’s Locker, to excerpts from famous (and not so famous) adventures such as Treasure Island or Edgar Allan Poe’s ‘The Gold Bug’, through to the re-tellings of various nautical narratives from myths and folk-tales, each of the stories in this glittering hoard is superb. Moreover, Mould’s scratchy illustrations are lively, funny, and slightly unruly, giving the book an appropriately roguish and disreputable character.

Narrated with verve and an ear for the piratical, this collection will appeal to the bloodthirsty buccaneer in would-be pirates from the age of 8 and up.