1. Compare Captain Candle and Captain Winterton. With which captain would you prefer to sail if offered the choice. Why?

2. Why does Philip quit school early?

Do you think his decision is a good one?

Why or why not? Likewise, do you think it is right or wrong of him to leave his grandparents? What advantages would there have been to living with them?

3. Sailors on the Rose of Devon's original crew react in different ways when Tom Jordan takes over the vessel.

How does Hawes use this episode as a means of characterization? Do some of the new pirates seem worse than others?

4. Early in the book the author hints that Philip admires and is drawn to Will Canty. Why do the two not become closer friends?

5. Philip Marsham supports the Royalist cause in England's civil war.

Does he lack respect for the Puritans...