Oak Knoll

A biography and comprehensive bibliography of novelist Rafael Sabatini (1875-1950) is being presented here for the first time anywhere. Sabatini is one of the most prolific and widely read novelists of the twentieth century, specializing in making history come alive through his fictional characterizations and his unique ability to use history as a background for fiction. Sabatini, half Italian but living and writing in England, was the master of romantic historical novels and has rightly been called by Jesse Knight "The Last of the Great Swashbucklers." He was so immersed in his writing of historical fiction that he often referred to himself as a "man out of his own time." Not only did he write interesting and well-told stories of romance and adventure, but he inspired movies that were just as popular has his books. Sabatini's three most popular swashbuckling stories, still being read today, are Captain Blood, The Sea Hawk, and Scaramouche, and each has been made into at least two movies. No author has better captured the imagination of so many with fiction filled with intrigues, escapes, romantic loves, devilish plots, and sword play.

This new book includes a thirty-page illustrated biography of the life of Sabatini written by the late Jesse F. Knight, who was the foremost expert on his life and works. It also contains a bibliography of the first US and UK editions, as well as other significant editions, of all forty-seven of his books, prepared by Stephen Darley. The bibliography also identifies all of the short story collections that have been published either in the US, the UK, or both. It describes all of the dust jackets, with color photos of many, which are important to collectors and sellers.

Book collectors and all who love Sabatini's fiction will find this book an invaluable guide for determining the accuracy of first edition offerings, for understanding what dust jackets are available, or for developing a library of Sabatini's novels.

Jesse F. Knight was a freelance writer for most of his life and crafted hundreds of short stories and articles. He was the foremost expert on the life and works of Rafael Sabatini, writing countless articles on the author, editing several collections of Sabatini short stories, and serving as president of the Rafael Sabatini Society. After a lifetime spent promoting romanticism, individualism, and all things heroic, he died in 2008 at the age of 62 in Vancouver, Washington.

Stephen Darley (d. 2022) had a law degree from George Washington University and owned a real estate development and construction firm from 1972 until his retirement. Mr. Darley published a joint article with Jesse Knight on Rafael Sabatini in Firsts Magazine (March 2001), an article on Leslie Turner White in November 2004, and an article on Dale L. Morgan in June 2008. He has written articles on the Revolutionary War for three different historical publications and is currently completing a book on the 1775 expedition to Quebec led by Benedict Arnold. He lived in Connecticut with his wife Peggy until his death in 2022.