First edition of an extraordinary account of an English merchant mariner's capture by Barbary pirates in or soon after 1648 and his subsequent adventures as a slave in Algeria. It is presented as an authentic journal of T[homas?] S[mith?], posthumously prepared for the press by his friend A. Roberts. The author is certainly well-informed on the Ottomans in Africa and his story may be partly based on true events, but many of the details are clearly fantasy, with monstrous beasts and people turned to stone, in addition to tall tales of his own adventures. In the story he sets off from the Thames in the Hamburg merchant ship Sancta Maria in July 1648 and the ship is captured by Barbary pirates soon after. As a slave under numerous masters the author tricks his way into employment as cook to the King of Algiers, is then demoted to keeper of the King's bath and secretly fathers a daughter with one of the King's wives. After an unsuccessful stint as a gardener's assistant he journeys in the service of an Ottoman officer, collecting tribute money with the Algerian army, and offers his services as an advisor to the Ottoman governor of Tlemcen (northwest Algeria).
With an owner's initials, manuscript bookplates and library stamps. In good condition, very slightly browned and with a small chip at the head of two leaves, affecting only the page numbers. First edition of an English merchant's marvellous adventures in Ottoman Africa. Cox I, p. 362; Playfair, Algeria 155; Playfair, Morocco 244; Wing S152.