WRITER

Rafael Sabatini

1875 - 1950

Photo of Rafael Sabatini

Icon of person Rafael Sabatini

Rafael Sabatini (29 April 1875 – 13 February 1950) was an Italian-born British writer of romance and adventure novels. He is best known for his worldwide bestsellers: The Sea Hawk (1915), Scaramouche (1921), Captain Blood (a.k.a. Captain Blood: His Odyssey) (1922), and Bellarion the Fortunate (1926). Read more on Wikipedia

Since 2007, the English Wikipedia page of Rafael Sabatini has received more than 354,613 page views. His biography is available in 30 different languages on Wikipedia (up from 29 in 2019). Rafael Sabatini is the 1,597th most popular writer (up from 1,628th in 2019), the 1,692nd most popular biography from Italy (up from 1,711th in 2019) and the 113th most popular Italian Writer.

Memorability Metrics

  • 350k

    Page Views (PV)

  • 57.95

    Historical Popularity Index (HPI)

  • 30

    Languages Editions (L)

  • 4.27

    Effective Languages (L*)

  • 3.12

    Coefficient of Variation (CV)

Notable Works

The Shame of Motley
The Sea-Hawk
Spanish Armada, Pirates, Barbary Pirates
Oliver Tressilian, a Cornish gentleman who helped the English defeat the Spanish Armada, is betrayed by his ruthless half-brother and seeks refuge in the Middle East, where he takes on a new role as a Barbary pirate.
Scaramouche
France in fiction, Open Library Staff Picks, Fiction
Idealism can be transferred from one person to another on a vehicle called revenge. [from Wikipedia: Scaramouche tells the story of a young lawyer during the French Revolution. In the course of his adventures he becomes an actor portraying "Scaramouche" (a roguish buffoon character in the commedia dell'arte). He also becomes a revolutionary, politician, and fencing-master, confounding his enemies with his powerful orations and swordsmanship. He is forced by circumstances to change sides several times. The book also depicts his transformation from cynic to idealist.]
Captain Blood
Pirates, Roman, Physicians
[The story of the famous fictional surgeon-turned-pirate, Dr. Peter Blood. What's interesting -- besides the thunderingly well told adventure story -- is that much of the historical background is based on fact.]
The historical nights' entertainment
Social life and customs, English Historical fiction, Fiction
Bardelys the Magnificent
Classic Literature, Fiction, Fiction in English
THE WAGER Speak of the Devil," whispered La Fosse in my ear, and, moved by the words and by the significance of his glance, I turned in my chair. The door had opened, and under the lintel stood the thick-set figure of the Comte de Chatellerault. Before him a lacquey in my escutcheoned livery of red-and-gold was receiving, with back obsequiously bent, his hat and cloak. A sudden hush fell upon the assembly where a moment ago this very man had been the subject of our talk, and silenced were the wits that but an instant since had been making free with his name and turning the Languedoc courtship - from which he was newly returned with the shame of defeat - into a subject for heartless mockery and jest. Surprise was in the air for we had heard that Chatellerault was crushed by his ill-fortune in the lists of Cupid, and we had not looked to see him joining so soon a board at which - or so at least I boasted - mirth presided. And so for a little space the Count stood pausing on my threshold, whilst we craned our necks to contemplate him as though he had been an object for inquisitive inspection. Then a smothered laugh from the brainless La Fosse seemed to break the spell. I frowned. It was a climax of discourtesy whose impression I must at all costs efface.

Among WRITERS

Among writers, Rafael Sabatini ranks 1,597 out of 7,302Before him are Ibrahim ibn Yaqub, Clarissa Pinkola Estés, Arnaldur Indriðason, Natalie Clifford Barney, Yaşar Kemal, and Mário de Andrade. After him are Robert Faurisson, Jan Guillou, David Albahari, Charles Paul de Kock, Muhammad Said Ramadan al-Bouti, and Chikamatsu Monzaemon.

Most Popular Writers in Wikipedia

Go to all Rankings

Contemporaries

Among people born in 1875, Rafael Sabatini ranks 51Before him are Ludwig Prandtl, Abd al-Hafid of Morocco, Qiu Jin, Hiram Bingham III, Fatali Khan Khoyski, and Franz Xaver Schwarz. After him are Walter Chrysler, Pedro de Alcântara, Prince of Grão-Pará, Maurice de Broglie, Issai Schur, Leonardo De Lorenzo, and Shaul Tchernichovsky. Among people deceased in 1950, Rafael Sabatini ranks 54Before him are Jan Smuts, Charles Koechlin, Salvatore Giuliano, Adam Rainer, Grigory Kulik, and Liane de Pougy. After him are Alfred Korzybski, Alma Karlin, Agnes Smedley, Kim Kyu-sik, Henry H. Arnold, and Walter Huston.

Others Born in 1875

Go to all Rankings

Others Deceased in 1950

Go to all Rankings

In Italy

Among people born in Italy, Rafael Sabatini ranks 1,692 out of 5,161Before him are Nicola Romeo (1876), Jacopo Riccati (1676), Domenico Fetti (1589), Amadeus III, Count of Savoy (1095), Ratchis (800), and Hermocrates (-500). After him are Hieronymus Fabricius (1533), Palma il Giovane (1548), Lippo Memmi (1291), Nino Manfredi (1921), Galileo Ferraris (1847), and Agnolo Gaddi (1350).

Among WRITERS In Italy

Among writers born in Italy, Rafael Sabatini ranks 113Before him are Jacopo Sannazaro (1458), Catherine of Bologna (1413), Asconius Pedianus (-9), Giovannino Guareschi (1908), Corax of Syracuse (-500), and Giorgio Bassani (1916). After him are Pacuvius (-220), Matteo Maria Boiardo (1441), Clodia Pulchra (-94), Maria Valtorta (1897), Margherita Sarfatti (1880), and Oswald von Wolkenstein (1377).