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Salgàri Emilio Carlo Giuseppe Maria
(1862—1911)

Emilio Salgari was an Italian writer of action adventure swashbucklers and a pioneer of science fiction. For over a century, his novels were mandatory reading for generations of youth eager for exotic adventures. In Italy, his extensive body of work was more widely read than that of Dante. Today he is still among the 40 most translated Italian authors. Many of his most popular novels have been adapted as comics, animated series and feature films. He is considered the father of Italian adventure fiction and Italian pop culture, and the grandfather of the Spaghetti Western.

Emilio Salgari was born in Verona to a family of modest merchants. From a young age, he had a desire to explore the seas and studied seamanship at a Naval Academy in Venice, but his grades were too poor to graduate.

Salgari began his writing career as a reporter with La Nuova Arena, which published some of his work as serials. As his powers of narration grew, so did his reputation for having lived a life of adventure. He claimed to have explored the Sudan desert, met Buffalo Bill in Nebraska (whom he met when the showman toured Italy), and sailed the Seven Seas. His early biographies were filled with adventurous tales set in the Far East, events which he claimed were the basis for much of his work. The Captain never ventured farther than the Adriatic Sea.

He turned his passion for exploration and discovery to writing. His first stories were serialized in newspapers. Early in his career, he began signing his tales Captain Salgari, a title he once defended in a duel when his claim to it was questioned.

Salgari married Ida Peruzzi, with whom he was very happy for years, although they struggled for money and had four children to support. He was never paid well enough given the immense popularity of his books.

In 1889 his father committed suicide. Ida became ill after 1903 and Salgari's struggles increased with her medical bills.

Salgari wrote more than 200 adventure stories and novels, setting his tales in exotic locations, with heroes from a wide variety of cultures. He gained inspiration from reading foreign literature and newspapers, travel magazines and encyclopedias, which he used to portray his heroes' worlds. He wrote four major series: The Pirates of Malaysia; The Black Corsair Saga; The Pirates of Bermuda; and a collection of adventures set in the Old West. Salgari’s heroes were mostly pirates, outlaws and barbarians, fighting against greed, abuse of power, and corruption.

Salgari did not argue for colonization in his fiction. His most legendary heroes Sandokan, The Tiger of Malaysia, a Bornean prince turned pirate, and his loyal lieutenant Yanez of Gomera, led their men in attacks against the Dutch and British fleets. They declared war on James Brooke, the White Rajah of Sarawak, and tried to force him from his throne. The Black Corsair and Captain Morgan battled against injustice in the Caribbean, while Salgari’s pirates of Bermuda fought for American independence.

Though knighted by the Queen of Italy and wildly popular, Salgari did not earn much money from his books and lived hand to mouth for most of his life. He had higher medical bills after his wife Ida Peruzzi, nicknamed "Aida," became ill in 1903, and he attempted suicide in 1910. After she was committed to a mental ward in 1911, Salgari was overwhelmed and committed suicide soon after. He imitated the Japanese ritual of seppuku and died on April 25, 1911. He left three letters, addressed to their children, his publishers, and newspaper editors of Turin. Their son committed suicide in 1933. His tales had been so popular that soon his publisher hired other writers to develop adventure stories under his name. They added 50 novels to his “canon”. Salgari's style was imitated by many, but no other Italian adventure writer managed to duplicate his popular success.

Italy, 2011, Emilio Salgari

Italy, 2011.04.21, Torino. Emilio Salgari