Black ivory by Polan Banks
QR code
"Black ivory" by Polan Banks is a historical romance novel written in the early 20th century. Set around the Gulf of Mexico and New Orleans in the early 19th century, it follows the rise of privateer Jean Lafitte—driven by vengeance and ambition—as he navigates piracy, smuggling, and Creole society. The story centers on Lafitte’s transformation from wounded lover to strategic power broker of the Barataria pirates, with his brother Pierre and adversaries
like Brouillard and the Baratarian faction leaders shaping his path. The opening of the novel begins on Mauritius, where a duel over Lizette Fondac goes tragically wrong when she leaps between the pistols and is killed, prompting the young Jean Lafitte to swear vengeance on Brouillard. Years later in the Caribbean, Lafitte commands the brig Lizette, clashes with Brouillard—now the feared Black Fox—gets captured, and endures the brutal murder of his loyal follower Red Jacques before Pierre and the crew of the Lizette rescue him; Brouillard dies fleeing, taken by a shark. The scene then shifts to 1810 New Orleans, where District Attorney Grymes outlines the post–slave-importation ban world: “black ivory” smuggling, the Lafitte brothers’ genteel blacksmith front, and Barataria’s emergence as a pirate base. Lafitte declares a bold plan to centralize operations at Grande Terre, build stockades and markets, enforce order with his “Myrmidons,” and wield economic power under letters of marque; arriving at Barataria, he confronts dissent from the quadroon Grambo and intervenes when Grambo savagely assaults a newly landed enslaved girl, the confrontation cutting off mid-scene. (This is an automatically generated summary.)
Download for free
For your e-reader or reading app — Kindle, Kobo, Apple Books, Calibre etc.
Kindle → Use Send-to-Kindle
Kobo, Nook etc. → Transfer via USB
Phone, tablet or computer → Open in a reading app
Other formats & older devices
There may be more files related to this item.
About this eBook
| Author | Banks, Polan, 1906-1984 |
|---|---|
| Author of introduction, etc. | White, Edward Lucas, 1866-1934 |
| Title | Black ivory |
| Original Publication | New York: A. L. Burt Company, Publishers, 1926. |
| Credits | Charlene Taylor and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.) |
| Language | English |
| LoC Class | PS: Language and Literatures: American and Canadian literature |
| Subject | Historical fiction |
| Subject | Love stories |
| Subject | Pirates -- Fiction |
| Subject | Brothers -- Fiction |
| Subject | Slave traders -- Fiction |
| Subject | New Orleans (La.) -- History -- 19th century -- Fiction |
| Subject | Laffite, Jean -- Fiction |
| Subject | Laffite, Pierre, -1826? -- Fiction |
| Category | Text |
| eBook-No. | 78822 |
| Release Date | Jun 6, 2026 |
| Copyright | Public domain in the USA. |
| Downloads | 523 downloads in the last 30 days. |
Project Gutenberg eBooks are always free!