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What does a man of honour become when his own family takes away his name, home and freedom?
In Elizabethan Cornwall, Sir Oliver Tressilian lives at Penarrow, respected and secure. Then his half-brother Lionel’s scheming destroys his good name. Oliver loses the life he knows, while the good opinion of Rosamund Godolphin, the woman he loves, matters deeply to him. Carried out to sea against his will, he faces captivity in a Spanish galley.
Rafael Sabatini’s The Sea-Hawk follows Oliver from Cornwall to the corsair ports of North Africa, where survival means taking another name. Across a Mediterranean of raiding ships and captives chained to oars, adventure meets romance. Oliver longs to set things right, but revenge puts pressure on the honour he still hopes to keep.
What you’ll discover
- Betrayal close to home A brother’s plot turns the safety of a shared home into the source of Oliver’s ruin.
- Life at the oar Follow a respected gentleman into captivity, where freedom gives way to the chains of a Spanish galley.
- The corsair world Enter the ports of the Barbary coast, where Oliver must build a life under another name.
- Love amid the wreckage Rosamund’s good opinion matters deeply to a man stripped of almost everything he values.
- The pull of revenge Brisk chapters carry a sharp question: how much can Oliver change without losing his honour?
Who will love it
Readers who love swashbuckling adventure, sea battles, duels and sweeping romance will enjoy this novel. It suits those drawn to wronged heroes and the conflict between honor and revenge.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- An old feud threatens Oliver's happiness
- Protecting Lionel puts Oliver at risk
- Fear turns protection into betrayal
- Suffering gives Oliver a new identity
- Revenge brings Oliver back to Cornwall
- Revenge gives way to protecting Rosamund
- A hidden bride risks open conflict
- Fear and quick judgments ruin lives
- Oliver's double life reveals lasting loyalties
Who’s who
- Sir Oliver TressilianA proud Cornish knight, rich from sea raids, who wants to marry Rosamund and later rises as the corsair Sakr-el-Bahr.
- Rosamund GodolphinA spirited young Cornish heiress who loves Oliver but is swayed by rumor, and who wants the truth about her brother's death.
- Lionel TressilianOliver's gentle, idle half brother, ruled by fear, who wants to keep his comfort and his secret safe.
- Sir John KilligrewThe master of Arwenack and Rosamund's guardian, quick to judge, who wants to build a port and protect her from the Tressilians.
- Jasper LeighA scarred, quick-witted sea captain who sells his services to the highest bidder and wants only to survive and profit.
- Asad-ed-DinThe aging Basha of Algiers, devout and fierce, who loves Oliver like a son and wants a worthy heir and peace at home.
- FenzilehAsad's Sicilian wife, clever and fearless, who wants to see Oliver brought down so that her son Marzak may rule.
- MarzakAsad's vain young son, jealous of Oliver, who wants his father's favor and the Bashalik for himself.
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The Sea-Hawk
by Rafael Sabatini · 1915
Betrayed by his own brother, a Cornish knight becomes a Barbary corsair and sails home to settle the score.
Medium level5–10 hours to read20 languages
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“The gates of the past are barred tight against us.”
In short
What would you do if the brother you raised and protected sold you to the slave traders of Barbary? That question drives The Sea-Hawk, the adventure novel by Rafael Sabatini.
The Sea-Hawk at a glance
- Reading time
- About 7 h 40 min6 h 5 min fast, 9 h 10 min slow
- Length
- 109,900 words
- Library level
- Medium longer sentences, everyday words
- First published
- 1915by Rafael Sabatini
Reading time at 238 words a minute (fast 300, slow 200). How long the classics take to read · Updated
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
An old feud spoils a happy courtship
Sir Oliver Tressilian begins the book at ease in the best year of his life. He is young and rich from his voyages with Hawkins, and Rosamund Godolphin, aged seventeen, has agreed to marry him.
His peace ends when Rosamund's brother Peter strides in and tells him he is no longer welcome at Godolphin Court. Peter sneers at Oliver's dead father and strikes him across the shoulder. Oliver laughs it off and refuses to fight the boy. He names the real cause, which is money. Peter and their guardian, Sir John Killigrew, want a new port at Smithick, and Oliver has blocked it with a petition to the Queen.
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Details
- First published
- 1915
- Language
- English
- Reading time
- 8 h 50 min
- Level
- Medium level
Cite this edition
Sabatini, Rafael. The Sea-Hawk. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-sea-hawk.
Sabatini, R. (2026). The Sea-Hawk. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-sea-hawk (Original work published 1915)
Sabatini, Rafael. The Sea-Hawk. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-sea-hawk.
@book{sabatini2026seahawk,
author = {Sabatini, Rafael},
title = {The Sea-Hawk},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-sea-hawk},
note = {First published 1915}
}
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What is The Sea-Hawk about?
It tells of Sir Oliver Tressilian, a Cornish knight falsely accused of killing his bride's brother. Kidnapped and condemned to the Spanish galleys, he is freed by corsairs, becomes their feared captain Sakr-el-Bahr, and sails home for revenge.
Who is Sakr-el-Bahr in The Sea-Hawk?
Sakr-el-Bahr, meaning Hawk of the Sea, is the name Oliver Tressilian takes as a corsair of Algiers. Under the Basha Asad-ed-Din he rises to command the Algerian galleys and becomes famous across the Mediterranean.
Is The Sea-Hawk a true story?
It is a work of fiction by Rafael Sabatini, set in the age of Queen Elizabeth and the Spanish Armada. Real people such as Hawkins and places such as Algiers appear, but the knight and his adventures are invented.
The author
Rafael Sabatini
1875–1950 · Italian-English historical novelist
Rafael Sabatini (1875–1950) was an Italian-born writer who wrote in English. He was born in Jesi, Italy, and settled in England in 1892. His novels include The Sea-Hawk (1915), Scaramouche (1921), and Captain Blood (1922). He also wrote biographies and short stories. He died in Adelboden, Switzerland.
“The gates of the past are barred tight against us.”
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