The Pirate by Sir Walter Scott

After growing tired of civilization, Basil Merton moves to the island known as Shetland with his young son, Mordaunt. Much more social than his father, Mordaunt is content reaching out to the other few people residing in their community, and grows up alongside the Troil daughters, Brenda and Minna. Peaceful and absent of the typical issues of society, Mordaunt is happy on the island, and content with his friends. But everything changes with the arrival of Captain Cleveland. Shipwrecked with the rest of his crew, Captain Cleveland has no choice but to stay on the island. During his stay, he helps himself to whatever he likes, an attitude shared by his crew. While the pirates disrupt the usually quiet town, Captain Cleveland causes problems even closer to home for Mordaunt. After falling in love with Minna, Captain Cleveland is persistent in his advances, and is misleading about his lifestyle, playing into Minna’s ideas of heroics. Against her father’s and Mordaunt’s advice, Minna reciprocates the captain’s love, but the pirate can only hide the truth for so long. Featuring forbidden love, disturbances, and delightfully odd characters, The Pirate by Sir Walter Scott is an enthralling tale of adventure and romance loosely based on the life of the infamous Orkney pirate John Gow.