Charles Ellms

Little is firmly documented about Charles Ellms himself, but reliable library records identify him as the compiler of The Pirates Own Book, published in Portland, Maine, in 1859. The volume gathers dramatic accounts of well-known pirates and buccaneers, and it became one of the enduring early American books on pirate lore.

Because so little biographical information appears to survive, Ellms remains a shadowy figure in literary history. What is clear is that his book had a long afterlife: it preserved and popularized sensational seafaring legends at a time when readers were fascinated by adventure, crime, and life at sea.

For listeners drawn to maritime history, Ellms is interesting not only as a writer but as a curator of stories that helped define the mythology of piracy in the English-speaking world.