Friday, July 07, 2006

Man Ahoy!

Pirates of the Caribbean 2 opened yesterday, starring, as I’m sure we’re all aware, the delectable Johnny Depp (Orlando who?). Although I would happily watch a film in which Johnny Depp did nothing but sit in a chair for 2 hours, I was surprised at how much more attractive he suddenly became in his guise as a roguish pirate….

There is something very alluring about the devil-may-care pirate persona; they’re the classic bad-boys-with-attitude, aren’t they? Alpha males who can genuinely buckle their swashes, splice the main brace and win the heart of the lady who secretly stowed away at the last port…

For me, the notion of romance and adventure on the high seas is so appealing because once off-shore, normal rules of propriety may not apply, and chances are, you’re the only woman on the boat – you’ll easily capture the captain’s attention. Naturally, you have to suspend your disbelief with regard to the grim realities of life on a pirate ship: no running water/scurvy/the crew’s dubious personal hygiene/risk of death by drowning/risk of death in rival pirate attack, plus settings tend to rule out modern-day travel essentials such as sunscreen, lifejackets, ship-to-shore radio contact etc., but if you got to share a cabin with Cap’n Jack Sparrow, I think I could handle a little hardship…


Anyone else share my pirate fantasy ;-)? Do you have any favourite authors in the pirate romance genre?