Black ivory

"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.

Black ivory, by Polan Banks. Republished by OpenStories from Project Gutenberg eBook #78822.