Cup of Gold

by John Steinbeck
Category: "Fiction - Historical"
Pages:187
Year of Publication:1929
Date Added:02/25/2021
Date Read:08/26/2024
Notes:Armed Services Edition

Set in the mid-1600s. Young Henry Morgan dreamed of one thing — being a pirate. When he turned 15, he headed for the coast and joined a ship, not knowing the captain intended to sell him as an indentured servant. He was sold to a plantation owner who soon took the to boy and made it his job to educate him. In a couple years, Henry was running the plantation. When his five years were up, he bought a ship and became the pirate he always wanted to be. His cleverness brought him unprecedented success and he was soon famous. But he still wasn't happy. Then he heard about a woman in the Spanish city of Panama who's beauty was world famous. He decided he wanted this woman, so he raised an army, marched across the Isthmus of Panama and sacked the city. But when he met the woman, he discovered that she wasn't what he expected and wasn't what he was hoping for — even though the woman rather hoped she was. Henry marched back across the isthmus, abandoned all his men and sailed off with the treasure because he now thought security would make him happy. He was called back to England where he was knighted and appointed governor of Jamaica. He married his cousin and ruled for a time, then died, still unsatisfied.
My Rating: 5

Reviews for Cup of Gold

Review - Cup of Gold

Steinbeck's first novel. I could see traces of his coming excellence as a writer, but the book didn't do it for me. Morgan was a lifeless character for whom I was never given a reason to sympathize. I never felt like I knew him, even though Steinbeck kept telling me what he was thinking. It's just that his thinking was so obscure that it didn't make sense. Also, Morgan was a jerk and the action sequences were very short and matter-of-fact.

Reviewed by Roger on 2024-08-26 05:31:39

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