©Andrew North
Books by Francesca de Tores
Francesca de Tores is a novelist, poet and academic. She is the author of six novels, published in over 20 languages, including Cast Away and Saltblood, which won the 2024 Wilbur Smith Adventure Writing Prize. In addition to a collection of poems, her poetry is published widely in journals and anthologies. She grew up in Lutruwita (Tasmania) and, after fifteen years in England, is now living in Naarm (Melbourne).
Saltblood
by Francesca de Tores
🏆 Winner of the 2024 Wilbur Smith Adventure Writing Prize for Best Novel
Saltblood by Francesca de Tores is a historical novel that imagines the life of Mary Read, a real-life 18th-century pirate. It's nicely written and very moving, and you're also propelled along by the sheer surprisingness of Read's story: this is a work of fiction but a lot of these things actually happened. At the back, the author lists primary and secondary sources for anyone wanting to find out more.
“it’s about and written from the point of view of Mary Read, and involves her relationship and pirating with Anne Bonny. It tells the story of Mary’s life, which is amazing. It’s almost like she lives several lives, and each of her lives is an adventure…I haven’t read a true account of Mary Read’s life, but there’s quite a lot of historical fact in Saltblood and I suspect it is accurate. One of the things I found incredibly skillful about this novel is that the author makes a real person’s life into a page-turning story. That’s difficult to do. As judges, we all loved Mary Read. One of the judges described her as ‘the badass central character.'” Read more...
Interviews with Francesca de Tores
Historical Novels Set In the 1700s, recommended by Francesca de Tores
The 18th century, an age of naval powers and expanding colonial empires, was marked by dramatic uprisings, revolutions and technological breakthroughs. We asked Francesca de Tores, author of Saltblood and Cast Away, to recommend five brilliant historical novels set in the 1700s—and how she balances factual accuracy with the demands of fiction.
Interviews where books by Francesca de Tores were recommended
The Best Adventure Novels: The 2024 Wilbur Smith Prize, recommended by Emma Styles
If you love adventure stories, you’ll be delighted to hear that there’s a book prize fully focused on them. Novelist Emma Styles, one of the judges for the 2024 Wilbur Smith Adventure Writing Prize, talks us through the shortlist for best published novel, from pirates in the Caribbean to World War II Italy, from Victorian London to a dystopian future Britain—by way of Nigeria and Tbilisi, Georgia.
