Emilio Salgari - born in Verona on 21 August 1862 - was an Italian writer of action adventure swashbucklers and a pioneer of science fiction. From a young age, he had a desire to explore the seas and studied seamanship in Venice, but never graduated. He instead turned his passion for exploration and discovery to writing, beginning his career as a reporter on the daily La Nuova Arena, which published some of his work as serials. He eventually wrote more than 200 adventure stories and novels, setting his tales in exotic locations, with heroes from a wide variety of cultures, although he had never ventured farther than the Adriatic Sea. He gained inspiration from reading foreign literature and newspapers, travel magazines and encyclopedias, which he used to portray his heroes worlds. He wrote four major series: The Pirates of Malaysia (published in 1896); The Black Corsair Saga; The Pirates of Bermuda; and a collection of adventures set in the Old West. Salgari’s heroes were mostly pirates, outlaws and barbarians, fighting against greed, abuse of power, and corruption. Salgari opposed colonization in his fiction, and his most legendary heroes - Sandokan, The Tiger of Malaysia, a Bornean prince turned pirate, and his loyal lieutenant Yanez of Gomera - led their men in attacks against the Dutch and British fleets and declared war on James Brooke, the White Rajah of Sarawak, trying to force him from his throne. In Italy his novels were mandatory reading for generations of youth eager for exotic adventures, and Salgari became wildly popular, and was even knighted by the Queen of Italy. Today he is still among the 40 most translated Italian authors. Sandokan – Pirates of Malaysia was translated into Malay and the novel “Sandokan: Lanun Malaysia” was officially launched in Kuala Lumpur on the 26th October 2010. The book is available for online purchases on itbm.my/catalogue/buku/sandokan_lanun_malaysia/
Posted on: Fri, 22 Aug 2014 08:53:36 +0000
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