Update from The Whydah Pirate Museum
Always exciting to read about the latest developments from Barry Clifford and his team. Recently they discovered the remains of six skeletons that had been encased in a concretion, which is a large mass that forms around underwater objects.
Back in 2018, they found a leg bone and had hoped it was the captain of the ill-fated Whydah pirate ship, Black Sam Bellamy. But, through the science of DNA and a trip to England for a match from Sam's distant relative, their research proved it was not the infamous pirate. Undeterred, they continue and, as of today, they are on the hunt again for Bellamy. The Whydah Pirate Museum is open and located in South Yarmouth on Cape Cod.
There are many stories written about the 1717 wreck of the Whydah, Sam Bellamy and his lover, the mythical Maria Hallett.
My first two historical novels, The Old Cape House and The Old Cape Teapot follow Sam and Maria's story line. They're based on all the facts that we know to be true and accurate, all gleaned from old records and documents. Where there were holes in the search, that's where I fictionalized. Two important premises fueled my stories.
#1 They never found Sam Bellamy's body.
#2 Maria Hallett is not documented anywhere as to her connection to Sam except in folk lore.
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| The Old Cape House |
Nancy Caldwell relocates to an old sea captain's house on Cape Cod with her husband and four children. When she discovers an abandoned root cellar in her backyard containing a baby's skull and gold coins, she digs up evidence that links her land to the legendary tale of Maria Hallett and her pirate lover, Sam Bellamy.
Using alternating chapters between the 18th and 21st centuries, The Old Cape House, a historical fiction, follows two women that are lifetimes apart, to uncover a mystery that has had the old salts of Cape Cod guessing for 300 years.
2014 Winner ~ First Place in Historical Fiction ~ Royal Dragonfly Awards!
International Best Seller on Amazon!
The Old Cape Teapot
Nancy Caldwell uncovers a pirate mystery that had the Old Salts of Cape
Cod wondering for close to 300 years in the historical fiction, The Old
Cape House. Was she lucky or a good detective? Nancy returns in The Old
Cape Teapot, the second in a series, to uncover the trails of two
survivors from the wreck of the 1717 pirate ship Whydah. Armed with the
knowledge that in pirate culture the looted riches were equally shared,
she takes us to the tropical island of Antigua and back to Cape Cod
searching for clues to more treasure.
International Best Seller on Amazon!
If you're interested in reading more...
Fellow Cape Cod author Elizabeth Moisan wrote her version of Sam and Maria. Based on the facts that we know, her novel is an accurate swashbuckling pirate adventure...but Maria's story is a bit different from mine. Master of the Sweet Trade a good read.
