22 h 37 minAudiobook9 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at cost
Audiobook edition · 22 h 37 minPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
A storm brings a stranger to Shetland—and makes a sea captain’s hidden life everyone’s concern.
In Walter Scott’s The Pirate, bare cliffs and fierce tides frame a world shaped by old Norse customs. Mordaunt Mertoun longs for company beyond his gloomy father’s home. At Burgh Westra, generous Magnus Troil and his daughters, Minna and Brenda, offer the lively company he craves.
Then a shipwreck brings Captain Clement Cleveland ashore, rescued from the surf by Mordaunt. Handsome and commanding, Cleveland conceals the true nature of his trade. As romance and rivalry take hold, Minna’s hunger for a hero meets a troubling question: what makes a person worthy of admiration?
What you’ll discover
- Islands shaped by memory Enter feasts and conversations where old Norse habits still shape daily life.
- Two ways of seeing Meet Minna’s love of heroic tales beside Brenda’s practical eye for people.
- A feared island woman Encounter Norna of the Fitful Head, whom islanders believe can command the winds.
- Secrets behind the welcome Follow Mordaunt between his father’s guarded solitude and the warmth of Burgh Westra.
- The cost of glory Look beyond a captain’s commanding presence to questions of loyalty and admiration.
Who will love it
You will love this book if you enjoy windswept islands, old sagas, sea adventure and romance, a touch of the supernatural, and vivid, talkative characters.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A silent stranger rents a ruin at Jarlshof
- Mordaunt grows up between cliffs and sagas
- A storm and a sibyl at Harfra
- A wreck brings Captain Cleveland ashore
- The favorite of Burgh-Westra pushes Mordaunt aside
- Norna's dark tale and her leaden heart
- The pirates come to Kirkwall
- Old Norse ways meet the improving farmer
- Dreams of sea kings meet real pirates
- How Scott tells the tale
Who’s who
- Mordaunt MertounA bold, kind young man raised at Jarlshof, who loves the sea and the sisters of Burgh-Westra and wants his place among them.
- Basil MertounMordaunt's gloomy, learned father, who keeps to a ruin by the sea and guards a secret from everyone.
- Minna TroilThe elder daughter of Magnus, grave and romantic, who longs for a hero worthy of the old northern sagas.
- Brenda TroilMinna's younger sister, cheerful and sensible, who fears for Minna and quietly cares for Mordaunt.
- Magnus TroilThe hearty, hospitable Udaller of Burgh-Westra, proud of his Norse blood and fond of brandy and old customs.
- Norna of the Fitful-headA tall, fearsome woman who claims power over wind and wave and takes a fierce interest in Mordaunt and the sisters.
- Clement ClevelandA handsome, daring sea captain washed ashore from a wreck, who wins Burgh-Westra's favour and Minna's heart.
- Triptolemus YellowleyA Scottish farmer sent as factor to reform island farming, and a comic figure of grand plans and little luck.
Formats and delivery
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- Read by Lucas Linden, complete. It opens once the recording is online.
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- The key ideas in about 9 minutes, to read today.
- Paperback
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- Hardcover
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- Large print paperback
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- Large print hardcover
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Le Pirate
by Walter Scott · 1821
Two island sisters, a shipwrecked captain and a sibyl who commands storms meet on the Zetland shore.
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In short
What would you do if the sea threw a stranger at your feet, and saving him cost you your place in every house you loved? Mordaunt Mertoun, a young man raised in a ruin on the cliffs of Zetland, finds out.
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A silent stranger rents a ruin at Jarlshof
The story opens on Sumburgh Head, the great cliff at the southern tip of Zetland. A fierce tide called the Roost runs below it, and sand has buried most of an ancient Norse manor named Jarlshof. The landlord, Magnus Troil, lives far away in kinder country. He is a hot-tempered, generous man who prides himself on his old Norwegian blood.
Into this bleak place comes Basil Mertoun with a handsome boy of about fourteen. The islanders ask him nothing, because their rules of hospitality forbid prying. He avoids company, shuns women and drinks nothing but water, which horrifies Magnus. He rents Jarlshof with a gloomy kind of pleasure, since no company is exactly what he wants.
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- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas of the whole book in about 9 minutes. A good first look, or a refresher.
Details
- First published
- 1821
- Language
- français
- Level
- Challenging
Cite this edition
Scott, Walter. The Pirate. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-pirate.
Scott, W. (2026). The pirate. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-pirate (Original work published 1821)
Scott, Walter. The Pirate. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-pirate.
@book{scott2026pirate,
author = {Scott, Walter},
title = {The Pirate},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-pirate},
note = {First published 1821}
}
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What is The Pirate by Walter Scott about?
It tells of Mordaunt Mertoun, a young man raised at Jarlshof in Zetland, and of Captain Cleveland, a sailor he rescues from a wreck. Their rivalry for the Troil sisters, Norna's spells and a pirate crew drive the plot.
Is The Pirate based on a true story?
It draws on the real pirate John Gow, who terrorized Orkney in 1725 and was captured by James Fea. Scott invents the characters and moves the story to the late seventeenth century, and he says he imagined much of the island society.
Who is Norna of the Fitful-head?
Norna is a tall, mysterious woman who lives near Fitful-head and claims power over the winds. She is called a Reimkennar, or rhyme knower. Scott presents her as a believer in her own magic, with a hidden sorrow behind it.
The author
Walter Scott
1771–1832 · Scottish novelist and poet
Walter Scott (1771–1832) was a Scottish novelist, poet and playwright. He was born in Edinburgh and lived in Scotland, including at Abbotsford near Melrose, where he died. He wrote Marmion (1808), The Lady of the Lake (1810), Waverley (1814), Rob Roy (1817) and Ivanhoe (1819).
More by Walter Scott
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