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Scamps and Scoundrels True Stories of Maritime Lives and Legends
Publisher: Nimbus Publishing$19.95A miserly miller with a stash of gold, some sly smugglers who nevertheless remember to send a thank you note, a stern schoolmaster who couldn’t tell time, and a thief with two left feet are just some of the fascinating individuals who grace the pages of Scamps and Scoundrels. Riotous and witty, Bob Kroll writes these tales of historic hijinks in a delightfully folksy style, bringing to life snippets of the Maritimes’ less glorious past. With over a hundred tales from the 1700s to the 1900s, there is an example of just about every odd, peculiar, silly and ill-advised adventure you can think of. Scamps and Scoundrels gives readers a glimpse of the lives of smugglers, sailors, robbers, murderers, and sometimes just ordinary folk having a surprisingly bad day.
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Rogues and Rascals True Stories of Maritime Lives and Legends
Publisher: Nimbus Publishing$19.95Open Rogues and Rascals to any page, and you’ll find yourself drawn into the fascinating lives of ordinary Maritimers. A natural storyteller, Bob Kroll relates more than 200 true tales of our very own ancestors, and introduces us to heroes, failures, murderers, and soul savers who bring the everyday history of the Maritimes to vivid life.
The stories in Rogues and Rascals are loosely arranged into five sections, but can be read in any order you please. With tales from the 1700s through the mid-twentieth century, there are plenty of good starting points–a crime-ridden town on Prince Edward Island where residents take justice into their own hands; a daring escape from the Nova Scotia penitentiary; the tale of a New Brunswicker who smuggles tea for fun and profit; a captain whose ill-timed fit of laughter lands his entire crew in prison…and that’s just to name a few. Interesting, unusual, and always entertaining, these historical anecdotes are an enjoyable window into the feats and follies of Maritimers of the past.