A True Account

Katherine Howe

Magpie £16.99 Deception is everywhere in Howe’s tense ‘pyrate’ tale. Braiding two timelines, one capturing the violence of the 18th Century, the other evoking the stuffiness of the 1930s, it is a story of seafaring derring-do with a wonderful twist. In 1726, teenage Hannah disguises herself to become a cabin boy named Will, sailing the high seas with pirates in search of treasure. Two centuries later, Hannah’s journal is brought to the attention of history professor Marian, but is it genuine and does X really mark the spot?