Cup of Gold - a book whose title describes both content quality and subject.
Written: Jul 14 '09
Product Rating:
Pros: Very thought provoking, accurate on main events of Morgan's life, very interesting story.
Cons: Character, settings details are sketchy in places; knowledge of the period will likely help readers.
The Bottom Line: This is an excellent book for lovers of historical fiction, maritime narratives and Steinbeck literary followers. It is a surprisingly easy read, sure to be enjoyed!
mythwriter's Full Review: John Steinbeck - Cup of Gold: A Life of Sir Henry ...
John Steinbeck's bibliography is enormously extensive, though most have only heard of one or two works, such as The Grapes of Wrath. It is surprising, however, that his first novel, Cup of Gold, is hardly as well known. This is one of his few works that do not take place or reference in any way the state of California, but other than that, it bears a strong resemblance to the literary style familiar to his later works. Cup of Gold is actually a maritime novel, based on the life of Henry Morgan (who, interestingly, seems to have drunk wine more often than rum), and while some of the details and certainly characteristics and motivations are fictional, Cup of Gold still presents an interesting narrative of the historical figure, holding true to the main events of his life, and is certainly a worthwhile novel in the maritime genre.
The novel opens with the young Henry Morgan living with his family in 17th century Wales. Upon meeting an old friend of the family who has recently retired from a life as a seaman, Henry becomes immediately obsessed with the sea and with embedding his name in history. While his protective mother is staunchly against the idea, his father encourages him and tells him to seek the advice of an old hermit named Merlin. While not directly stated to be the Merlin of the King Arthur legends, the descriptions and dialogue allude to it so strongly that we see Steinbeck is all but admitting it. Interestingly, Merlin offers little advice on Morgan's career dreams, but instead advises him to visit a young girl, Elizabeth, whom Morgan has a denied crush upon, before he leaves. It is a seemingly trivial decision when Morgan does not do so, but simply leaves for port. There, he finds a ship willing to take him on, but in his youthful naivete, he does not perceive that perhaps he has been accepted too easily. His life that follows is one of betrayal and hardship that will instruct him in the ways of commanding respect and fear - qualities that will ultimately make him legendary. Through a career as a privateer hunting Spanish vessels for their wealth, along with failed and apathetic love, Henry then targets the center of all wealth in the New World - the city of Panama, called the Cup of Gold, where his dreams of wealth, love and fame may finally be realized. But sometimes, what we think we want is not what we truly need. Despite its legendary material excess, even the Cup of Gold may not hold the wine that can slake Captain Morgan's undying thirsts.
Avid readers of Steinbeck's novels will easily recognize the characteristic components of his writing that endear it to all. While missing the expected Californian element, Cup of Gold is a story of dreams and tragedy, of a lifetime spent in pursuit of an ideal that, when attained, turns out to be dissatisfying. The Cup of Gold holds all of Morgan's desires and aspirations, yet when he achieves all he ever dreams, he finds himself wanting. This theme of unrequited dreams and cheated hope is something Steinbeck has put to his readers again and again, always in a new light, to perhaps demonstrate that the achievement of material goals in and of itself is never enough to make a man. Sometimes it lies in a choice, to pursue worldly grandeur over the courage to approach a single woman, and the simpler road can haunt one forever. These are elements marvelously put forth in Steinbeck's earliest novel.
Now, though it is excellently written, Cup of Gold does not show the polish that his later works do, which is of course to be expected. Steinbeck's characters are never extraordinarily deep - they are everyman, simple men just trying to achieve idealistic dreams. Still, those in Cup of Gold are a little choppy. The book progresses over the years of Henry Morgan's life with almost no calender-based markings, except in one brief segment. Otherwise, it is assumed that years progress, and Morgan's character changes rather suddenly as a result. From naivete to experienced to cruel, there is little transition and less explanation, making his motives rather opaque and leaving the reader to simply accept that he has now become this man or that man. The other characters have little to no back-story, and while not necessary for some, a few could have done with a bit more fleshing out. These usually serve the sole purpose of driving dialogue for Morgan, so development and interaction are rather barren. On the other hand, this leave the reader free to fill in gaps, which can make certain aspects more involving than otherwise. The novel itself is not hurt by this, and reads both easily and interestingly throughout. It rarely grows dry, stagnant or bewildering.
Regarding the historical elements of the novel, some prior knowledge of 17th Caribbean politics and naval technology will probably help the reader flesh out the novel. Steinbeck's descriptions are vague at best, so those unfamiliar with certain aspects of the period may feel a bit lost in the imagination at some points. Still, the progress of Morgan through his various career markers flow well, and the descriptions of his rise and battles are, while not swashbuckling-action-packed, fairly compelling. The lack of descriptions in naval combat, vessel characteristics and period battle tactics may be a result of Steinbeck possibly not being an authority in maritime or military affairs, at least not until his service in WWII many years later. As such, we can readily forgive lack of details as opposed to faulty details, but of course this is all speculation for the purpose of describing the literature. Overall, Steinbeck sticks to reality, his main fictional additions likely being most of the smaller and personal events of Henry Morgan's life, the true details of which are surely sketchy at best. His most blatant departure from reality is probably the mysterious Merlin, who, while not actually presented as a wizard, is probably added simply from Steinbeck's love of the King Arthur Legends, as shown in his (interestingly last) book, The Acts of King Arthur and His Noble Knights.
Overall, Cup of Gold is a quality novel from both maritime writing and lasting literature perspectives, and will offer its readers both a thought provoking narrative and an enjoyable story of a life as a privateer. This novel is absolutely worth investigating either by itself or to be added to a collection of Steinbeck's works.
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