MP3 Audios - Biography

The Extraordinary Story of Thomas Pellow and North Africa's One Million European Slaves.

'Milton's story could scarcely be more action-packed, and its settings and subsidiary characters are as fantastic as its events.'  The Times.

In 1716, Cornish cabin boy Thomas Pellow and fifty-two comrades were captured by Barbary corsairs.  Their captors - fanatical Islamic slave traders - had declared war on Christendom.  Thousands of Europeans had been snatched and taken to the great slave markets of Morocco.

Pellow was bought by the tyrannical Sultan of Morocco.  He would witness first-hand the barbaric splendour of the imperial court.  For twenty-three years, he would dream of his home, and freedom.

Drawn from unplublished letters written by slaves, and by the padres and ambassadors sent to free them, WHITE GOLD reveals a disturbing and forgotton history, told with all the pace and verve of one of our finest historians.

Tim Pigott-Smith has worked extensively with the Royal Shakespeare Company, the Royal National Theatre and the Bristol Old Vic.  His TV credits incude North and South, Fame is the Spur, The Chief and The Jewel in the Crown.  His films include Aces High and The Remains of the Day.  He is also a successful director of stage plays.