{"product_id":"9781935585749","title":"The Privateersman: Book Fourteen of the Marryat Cycle","description":"The Privateersman, written in 1846, was the last of Frederick Marryat's nautically oriented novels, although one of his best non-nautical works, Children of the New Forest, still lay ahead of him.     Privateers were essentially legalized pirates.  They functioned like the illegal variety; but they carried a document from their government authorizing them to prey on the merchant ships of a specific enemy country.  This document is what kept them from being hung as pirates should they be caught.  After capturing a ship, they would bring it into an approved port where the ship's goods, along with the ship itself, would be sold.  The government got a cut, the ship's officers and crew got a cut, and the investors got a return on their money which allowed them to send the privateer out again.     The Privateersman is set in the early 1700s and gives us a keen insight into the world of privateering.  Combine that insight with nonstop action and Marryat's unique dry wit, and  you have a tremendously entertaining read.","brand":"Fireship Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47137562296560,"sku":"9781935585749","price":7.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/9781935585749_p0.jpg?v=1763656978","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/9781935585749","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}