In Captain Kidd: A True Story of Treasure and Betrayal (Diversion Books/Simon & Schuster, 2025) bestselling author Samuel Marquis delves into the legendary life of his own ninth-great-grandfather, Captain William Kidd (1654–1701), casting new light on one of history’s most infamous figures.
Captain Kidd has captivated imaginations for over 300 years and inspired many stories about pirates, but was he really a criminal?
Just how many ships did he plunder, how many men did he force to walk the plank, and how many throats did he slit? Or is the truth more inconvenient, that he was a buccaneer’s worst nightmare, a revered pirate hunter turned fall guy for scheming politicians?
In Captain Kidd, Marquis reveals the real story. Kidd was an English-American privateer and leading New York husband and father, dubbed “trusty and well-beloved” by the King of England, William III, and described by historians as a “worthy, honest-hearted, steadfast, much-enduring sailor” who was the “victim of a deliberate travesty of justice.”
With honors far more esteemed than the menacing Blackbeard or any other sea rover at the turn of the 17th century, how can Kidd be considered both gentleman and pirate, both hero and villain?
Marquis’ biography clears the foggy haze of four centuries of legend and British propaganda to illuminate the seafaring adventurer and civic leader who helped finance the construction of Trinity Church.
He scrupulously recreates Kidd’s perilous world of explosive naval warfare, the daring integrity he exemplified as a pirate hunter, and the political scandal that entangled Kidd in British-American history, rocking the New World and the Old and threatening England’s valuable trade with India.
Captain Kidd is both thrilling and tragic. Behind the legend is a real man woven into the tapestry of early America, rendering him a unique colonial hero and scapegoat, whose life story was fascinating, exciting, bizarre, and heartrending.
About the Author
The ninth-great-grandson of legendary privateer Captain William Kidd, Samuel Marquis, M.S., P.G., is a professional hydrogeologist, expert witness, and bestselling, award-winning author of 12 American nonfiction-history, historical fiction, and suspense books, covering primarily the period from colonial America through WWII.
His American history and historical fiction books have been #1 Denver Post and Amazon bestsellers and received multiple national book awards in both fiction and non-fiction categories (Kirkus Reviews and Foreword Reviews Book of the Year, American Book Fest and USA Best Book, Readers’ Favorite, Colorado Book Awards).
His historical titles have also garnered glowing reviews from #1 bestseller James Patterson, maritime historians, U.S. military veterans, Kirkus Reviews, and Foreword Reviews (5 Stars).
His book Blackbeard: The Birth of America (2018) has been an Amazon #1 Bestseller in Colonial Period History of the U.S.
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Illustration below: William Kidd, privateer, pirate. 18th century portrait by Sir James Thornhill.
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