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1Dark Frigate

By Charles Boardman Hawes

The frigate Rose of Devon rescues from a wreck in mid-ocean twelve men who show their gratitude by seizing the Rose, killing her captain and sailing toward the Caribbean where they hope to plunder Spanish towns and galleons. Mistaking an English man-of-war for a merchantman, they are captured and brought back to England for trial. Only one, an English lad, Philip Marsham, a member of the original crew of the Rose, is acquitted; and he, after adventures in the forces of King Charles, tires of Cromwell's England and sails for Barbados once more on the Rose of Devon. <br><br> <i>The Dark Frigate</i> has long been a favorite story for boys and in 1924 was awarded the John Newbery Medal, given annually "for the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children."<br><br> When <i>The Dark Frigate</i> was first published F. F. Van deWater in The New York Tribune said: "No one, we think, has written so perfect a pirate tale since <i>Treasure Island</i>." (from the dustjacket of the first edition)

2The Great Quest

By Charles Boardman Hawes

A 1922 Newbery Honor Book, The Great Quest is a rollicking young-adult high-seas adventure tale set in 1826, with suspense and intrigue thrown in. Hawes uses symbolic names and just punishment in this anti-slave-trade morality story, which, ironically, also reveals the coinciding covert racism that was common at the time of writing. This youth literature would make a good springboard for directed discussion about that topic. Full-cast reading. - Summary by Scott Caulkins

Welcome to another edition of the exciting and influential pulp magazine The Thrill Book! In this issue, we bring you "The Unknown Revolution", a sensational novel of revolutionary action and intrigue in Mexico! We also conclude the dashing lost city adventure "The Lost Empire" and begin the strange and mysterious 2-parter "The Lost Days" as well as continuing the seafaring pirate tale "The Opium Ship"! For those who like their stories steeped in the macabre, we have returning author Greye La Spina with the spine-tingling "The Wax Doll", the psychical happenings of "The Crystal Ball", the bizarre invention of "When Dead Lips Speak" and the psychologically sinister "The Spider and the Fly". Plus another installment of the mind-bending world of The Double Man! All this and more await thrill-seekers and voracious readers alike! - Summary by Ben Tucker