Today for #HistFicThursdays, I am delighted to once again be teaming up with The Coffee Pot Book Club , this time to share an excerpt from S. R. Perricone 's fantastic new book Cobblestones ! First of all, let's meet the book... The turbulent history of Post-Reconstruction New Orleans collides with the plight of Sicilian immigrants seeking refuge in America. Antonio, a young man fleeing Sicily after avenging his father's murder, embarks on a harrowing journey to New Orleans with the help of Jesuit priests expelled from his homeland. However, the promise of a fresh start quickly sours as Antonio becomes entangled in a volatile clash of cultures, corruption, and crime. In the late 19th century, Italian immigrants in New Orleans faced hostility, exploitation, and a brutal system of indentured servitude. Antonio becomes a witness to history as a bitter feud over the docks spirals into violence, culminating in the assassination of Irish police chief David ...
I can’t quite remember what inspired me to watch Our Flag Means Death. I have a vague recollection of watching a trailer on Facebook and then, eventually, picking up my phone and flicking through various streaming platforms, finally settling on that as my pick.
What I was expecting was a farcical pirate romp. Maybe elements of The Muppets’ Treasure Island but with a little more adult content. Lots of hopeless pirates attempting swashbuckling tasks with comically poor results. Possibly a bit of Blackadder-esque historical humour.
As anyone who has watched the series would be able to tell you, I was a little way off the mark. In fact, it is a delicious, hilarious and touching tribute to Wokeness. And I say this as a good thing: all people are welcome here.
For me, watching it straight after finishing (or getting towards the end of, I can’t quite remember) my novel about Alexander the Great, the relationship between Stede and Blackbeard really resonated with me. What begins as a fascination works itself into sexual tension, before it blossoms into a beautiful love story. The Big Misunderstanding at the end is, quite honestly, heartbreaking.
Of course, there are also elements of a more adult version of The Muppets’ Treasure Island, and there are lots – and lots – of hopeless pirates. There is also an antagonist who you want to leap in front of the camera and rip limb from limb.
I would highly recommend this series to anyone looking for a historical programme which has a little bit of everything. As a writer, I can only hope that the relationships I write (whatever they may look like) inspire the same sense of investment from the readers.
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