Rafael Sabatini (1875-1950) wrote some of the greatest adventure stories of the early 20th century, including Scaramouche and Captain Blood. The Sea-Hawk, originally published in 1915, is the story of a Cornish gentleman, Sir Oliver Tressilian, who is betrayed by a jealous brother. Liberated from slavery aboard a Spanish galley, Sir Oliver joins the Barbary pirates who freed him. Taking the name "Sakr-el-Bahr," the hawk of the sea, he swears vengeance against his brother.