Captains and the Kings is the sweeping 1972 novel of the family of Joseph Francis Xavier Armagh, who departs Ireland as a 13-year-old with his mother and younger brother Sean to join his father in America. His mother dies upon arrival in New York harbor giving birth to his baby sister Regina. He promises her to take care of the family. They are penniless and find out they will not be allowed to debark in New York at the same time that he is informed that his father has recently died. They debark in Philadelphia. Joseph uses most of the little money he has been left by his father to place Sean and Regina with the nuns in an orphanage. Joseph begins working at anything and sends money to the orphanage so they won’t put Sean and Regina up for adoption. He frequently goes hungry because he won’t spend money to himself when it is needed to keep his family together.Joseph happens on a newspaper article about an oil strike in Titusville, PA and “borrows” money from his employer (which he later repays with interest) as he leaves without notice for Titusville. During a train accident he saves the life of an injured fellow traveler Harry Zeff, following which he is befriended by a rich and powerful fellow Irishman Ed Healey. Joseph soon becomes indispensable to the wide variety of business interests in which Mr. Healey is involved. This evolves into an almost father-and-son relationship and at Mr. Healey’s death, Joseph becomes the principal heir to the majority of the vast business interests. Now, after fifteen years, Joseph is able to provide a beautiful home for Sean and Regina and takes them from the orphanage. The inheritance Joseph received from Mr. Healey was VERY large. Joseph is so driven that he has increased the value many times in the years following. He is a very ruthless businessman and will take all necessary steps to reach his goals. This included threats against the family of a congressman which drove him to commit suicide rather than face the consequences of what Joseph threatened to do. However, the congressman writes Joseph a letter prior to his death in which he places a curse on Joseph’s family. Joseph is not superstitious and does not initially believe in the curse, but as the novel progresses, so many deaths occur to members of his family and others for whom he cares, that the curse begins to haunt him. This becomes especially true when he is financing the effort to get his last living child elected as the American President.I well remember the 1976 TV miniseries that was made of this novel and have intended to read it many times. I’m very glad to have gotten the push to do so from the Aussie Readers’ Group, i.e., Book Reading Challenges -> May Challenge - Reduce your TBR list! I barely finished it during the month of May, but do intend to continue the “Reduce my TBR list” effort. Captains and the Kings is a well written very enjoyable family saga. It has many parallels to the Kennedy Clan and their alleged curse. I enjoyed it a lot and recommend it to others who might be interested.[Book 45 of revised 2012 target 70 (Jan-10; Feb-11; Mar-9; Apr-8; May-7)]
Taylor Caldwell is largely unknown today, and CAPTAINS AND THE KINGS is virtually the only novel of her left in print in mass-market paperback, and less than a handful are available in oversized paperback editions. But from 1938 (DYNASTY OF DEATH) through her last published novel, ANSWER AS A MAN (1980), Caldwell kept countless readers enthralled with her powerful sagas of ambition and destiny, set during various periods of American and European history (along with a few diversions to Ancient Rome and Ancient Greece). Her novels were notable for their great emotional depth, as well as her unerring eye for detail - she was often (and justifiably) accused of verbosity, but she was nevertheless a thunderingly good storyteller.CAPTAINS AND THE KINGS is one of her best novels, almost a late-career companion to DYNASTY OF DEATH and NEVER VICTORIOUS, NEVER DEFEATED (1954). Both novels are about men with a passion for success who let no one and nothing stand in the way of achieving it. Caldwell herself called CAPTAINS AND THE KINGS her "Kennedy novel," because the tragic family she chronicles here does indeed resemble that famous family. The novel's central character, Joseph Francis Xavier Armagh, arrives in America from Ireland as a penniless orphan - decades later he's one of America's wealthiest and most powerful men, with one ambition left: to make his son, Rory, the first Catholic president of the United States.CAPTAINS AND THE KINGS is about power - actually, even more than that, it's about the power behind power, the people behind the scenes - bankers, investors, manufacturers - who control politicians and the destinies of nations.I was besotted with CAPTAINS AND THE KINGS as a teenager, and read it four times between 1972 and 1975. I re-read it two years ago, well over 30 years after my last reading, and enjoyed it all over again.If you've never read Taylor Caldwell, CAPTAINS AND THE KINGS is well worth seeking out, along with DYNASTY OF DEATH, TESTIMONY OF TWO MEN, and DEAR AND GLORIOUS PHYSICIAN. With historical fiction once again highly popular, it's time Caldwell was rediscovered.5/12/12: 39 years after it was published, the paperback edition of CAPTAINS AND THE KINGS has gone out of print. It was the last mass-market paperback of a Caldwell title available - end of an era!
What do You think about Captains And The Kings (1983)?
Captains and the Kings is such a great all around read in my opinion. So much so that it is one of my favorite books of all time (and that's saying a lot coming from me). While the theme at first glance seems to be a rags to riches story, it goes so much more beyond that. You have history, romance, politics, drama (plenty of it yet not overdone), and it also delves into the different natures of human beings. It is easy to read, yet pretty intense and I had a difficult time putting this book down! Caldwell writes so well and is able to captivate the reader that by the end of the book, I was left wanting more. For those who haven't read this book yet, I hope you give this one a chance!
—Valeria
Ok--Be very careful with Taylor Caldwell books. She has geared these toward women who want hardcore romance--if you know what I mean. It is usually brief I hear, but the point of her books is not about "heaving bossoms" it's to educate the average reader about governments and what goes on behind the scenes. She is very educated and a very talented writer and usually writes about a specific conspiracy. They may sound strange but I would highly recommend any of her books (minus the bedroom scene) for anyone interested in learning politics without getting out a history book.
—Laura
Is it possible you read an abridgement or edited version? I've read this book five times, and the character, his fate, and his laying of the curse on the Armaghs was there every time.
—Deborah Pickstone
