100 books like Like Froth Floating on the Sea

By Robert J. Antony,

Here are 100 books that Like Froth Floating on the Sea fans have personally recommended if you like Like Froth Floating on the Sea. Shepherd is a community of 12,000+ authors and super readers sharing their favorite books with the world.

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Book cover of History of the Pirates Who Infested the China Sea from 1807-1810

Larry Feign Author Of The Flower Boat Girl

From my list on Chinese pirates.

Why am I passionate about this?

For half my life I’ve lived on an island near Hong Kong, walking distance from former pirate havens. I made my career as a cartoonist and published numerous satirical books about Hong Kong and China. Recently, I've spent years deeply researching the pirates of the South China coast, which culminated in writing an utterly serious book about the most powerful pirate of all, a woman about whom the misinformation vastly outnumbers the facts. I made it my mission to discover the truth about her. The books on this list hooked me on Chinese pirates in the first place and are essential starting points for anyone prepared to have their imaginations hijacked by Chinese “froth floating on the sea”.

Larry's book list on Chinese pirates

Larry Feign Why did Larry love this book?

The original chronicle of the massive pirate outbreak along the China coast in the early 19th century. Written by a Chinese amateur historian, he makes his patriotic agenda clear on every page: to boost the maligned reputation of China’s imperial navy in allegedly quashing the pirates (by twisting the historical truth, to put it mildly). The main characters and incidents are based on fact, while he fills in the gaps with private conversations and meetings that no one could have been privy to. Translated into English by a German missionary in 1835, this mix of fact and speculation is the ur-document on which every western account of these pirates is based. Newer editions include an eyewitness narrative by a British sailor who spent six months as a captive of the pirates. Essential and entertaining reading which should be taken with large pinches of (pilfered) salt.

Book cover of Pirates of the South China Coast, 1790-1810

Larry Feign Author Of The Flower Boat Girl

From my list on Chinese pirates.

Why am I passionate about this?

For half my life I’ve lived on an island near Hong Kong, walking distance from former pirate havens. I made my career as a cartoonist and published numerous satirical books about Hong Kong and China. Recently, I've spent years deeply researching the pirates of the South China coast, which culminated in writing an utterly serious book about the most powerful pirate of all, a woman about whom the misinformation vastly outnumbers the facts. I made it my mission to discover the truth about her. The books on this list hooked me on Chinese pirates in the first place and are essential starting points for anyone prepared to have their imaginations hijacked by Chinese “froth floating on the sea”.

Larry's book list on Chinese pirates

Larry Feign Why did Larry love this book?

Dian Murray spent ten years in Taiwan and mainland China in the 1970s and 1980s doing groundbreaking research into the early 19th century pirates, which became her PhD dissertation, later expanded into this book. This is the first attempt in any language to put together the full story of these pirates. Being an academic, her interest was less on the wider narrative and personalities, and more on various issues of historical development, sociology, weaponry, and more. By far the most important book for anyone researching these pirates. Sadly out of print.

Book cover of I Sailed with Chinese Pirates

Larry Feign Author Of The Flower Boat Girl

From my list on Chinese pirates.

Why am I passionate about this?

For half my life I’ve lived on an island near Hong Kong, walking distance from former pirate havens. I made my career as a cartoonist and published numerous satirical books about Hong Kong and China. Recently, I've spent years deeply researching the pirates of the South China coast, which culminated in writing an utterly serious book about the most powerful pirate of all, a woman about whom the misinformation vastly outnumbers the facts. I made it my mission to discover the truth about her. The books on this list hooked me on Chinese pirates in the first place and are essential starting points for anyone prepared to have their imaginations hijacked by Chinese “froth floating on the sea”.

Larry's book list on Chinese pirates

Larry Feign Why did Larry love this book?

Lilius, a Finnish-Russian journalist and adventurer, describes his first-hand account of sailing around the Pearl River Delta in the 1920s with the female pirate chieftain Lai Choi-san. It’s a swashbuckling page-turner, featuring cutthroats, cannons, and opium dens. It’s a wonder he survived unscathed. Yet even though he includes photos, there is reason to believe that he made up the whole thing, since there are no other records of Lai Choi-san. Worth reading anyway, for the details about ships, boat people culture, and coastal life in the late 1920s, were properly researched and all ring true. First published in 1930, it was reissued in 2009.

By Aleko E. Lilius,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked I Sailed with Chinese Pirates as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

An enthusiastic history of rampant Cantonese piracy in the 1930s, this first-hand account follows globetrotting journalist Aleko E. Lilius as he sets out to infiltrate mysterious pirate gangs. Describing every detail of the reporter’s life as he eats, sleeps, and sails with murderous gangs, this recollection chronicles the rapport between Lilius and South China’s notorious pirate queen, Lai Choi San. Including the harrowing misdeeds witnessed on Lilius’s journey, this record is a sensational, adventurous tale.


Book cover of A Lady's Captivity Among Chinese Pirates: In the Chinese Seas

Larry Feign Author Of The Flower Boat Girl

From my list on Chinese pirates.

Why am I passionate about this?

For half my life I’ve lived on an island near Hong Kong, walking distance from former pirate havens. I made my career as a cartoonist and published numerous satirical books about Hong Kong and China. Recently, I've spent years deeply researching the pirates of the South China coast, which culminated in writing an utterly serious book about the most powerful pirate of all, a woman about whom the misinformation vastly outnumbers the facts. I made it my mission to discover the truth about her. The books on this list hooked me on Chinese pirates in the first place and are essential starting points for anyone prepared to have their imaginations hijacked by Chinese “froth floating on the sea”.

Larry's book list on Chinese pirates

Larry Feign Why did Larry love this book?

In 1852 a young French woman set out on a round-the-world tour, stopping in Brazil and California before sailing to the young British colony of Hong Kong. Her return vessel to San Francisco was damaged in a typhoon, then hijacked by pirates. She chronicles in effervescent detail her treatment by the pirates, both callous and kind, offering a rare glimpse of Chinese pirate life. The original French edition was a big hit and soon translated into other languages. In the spirit of other 19th century travelogues, this book transports the reader in exquisite detail to many colorful and exotic far-off places, but the highlight is her engaging account of the terrors and discoveries of her captivity on the South China Sea. For the serious researcher, it offers a wealth of rare details of shipboard and captive life.

By Fanny Loviot, Alex Struik (illustrator), Amelia B. Edwards (translator)

Why should I read it?

1 author picked A Lady's Captivity Among Chinese Pirates as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

On the 4th of October 1854, a Chilian ship, called the 'Caldera,' sailed from the port of Hong-Kong and was grounded by stress of weather amid a group of islets lying to the south-west of Macao. One Mademoiselle Fanny Loviot, a young French lady, happened to be on board. The pirates took her prisoner, as well as a Chinese merchant, who was her fellow-passenger, and sent on the captain to Hong-Kong, to treat for a double ransom. This is her story.


Book cover of The Scar

Kim Alexander Author Of The Sand Prince

From my list on fantasy that make you feel like you’ve been there.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’m a writer of epic fantasy and paranormal romance, and my obsession is writing about the fashion, food, language, and social politics of the worlds I create. World building is vital if you intend to create a lived-in backdrop for your story, but intricate, elaborate world building will only take you so far. You (the author) must have a cast of characters equally well developed. I’ve tried to take lessons away from every book I’ve read and every author I’ve interviewed and worked to balance characters to fall in love with against places that feel absolutely alive. Their joy/terror/love/hate/experience becomes the readers. It’s that combination that makes a book unforgettable.

Kim's book list on fantasy that make you feel like you’ve been there

Kim Alexander Why did Kim love this book?

Although The Scar is the second book in the Bas Lag series, I prefer it to Perdido Street Station (which is also glorious.) The Scar takes to the seas, a place I always prefer to be, in the form of the floating, roving city of Armada.

We come aboard (as it were) and experience life on Armada—its precincts, villages, towns, secrets, and its people—swordsmen and librarians and vampires and the mysterious pair who run the place—The Lovers (that’s the only name we get) through the eyes of Bellis Coldwine, a prickly, difficult, but fascinating woman who would literally rather be anywhere else.

I get where she’s coming from but I would absolutely book a cruise on Armada!

By China Miéville,

Why should I read it?

5 authors picked The Scar as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

A human cargo bound for servitude in exile... A pirate city hauled across the oceans... A hidden miracle about be revealed... This is the story of a prisoner's journey. The search for the island of a forgotten people, for the most astonishing beast in the seas, and ultimately for a fabled place - a massive wound in reality, a source of unthinkable power and danger.From the author of Perdido Street Station, another colossal fantasy of incredible diversity and spellbinding imagination, which was acclaimed in The Times Literary Supplement as: 'An astonishing novel, guaranteed to astound and enthral the most jaded…


Book cover of Vulture

Katharine Corr Author Of A Throne Of Swans

From my list on fantasy featuring fierce queens.

Why am I passionate about this?

I write YA fantasy novels with my sister, Liz. A Throne of Swans (our fourth book) is the first in a duology which features two fierce, shape-shifting queens. Since we both studied history at university, we’re particularly drawn to fantasy settings with a historical element, whether that’s a royal court or tall ships from the age of sail. In real history, queens wielding power tend to be rare or at least overlooked; Catherine of Aragon’s divorce is common knowledge, her wartime regency of England less so. Writing about and reading about powerful queens in fantasy novels is, I think, one small way of redressing the balance.  

Katharine's book list on fantasy featuring fierce queens

Katharine Corr Why did Katharine love this book?

This is the third book in the awesome Isles of Storm and Sorrow trilogy. The hero, Marianne, is not only a queen and a mage but an amazing, kick-ass pirate. That means a lot of the adventure takes place on what for us are historic sailing ships – which I love – as well as in and around the various wonderfully described islands. Marianne’s moral struggles also fascinate me, particularly in Vulture. How easy is it to draw the line between fighting back for the right reasons and taking revenge simply for the pleasure of it? It’s a dilemma we’ve touched on in our own books, and an area of ambiguity that makes Marianne a particularly satisfying character to travel with.

By Bex Hogan,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Vulture as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 12, 13, 14, and 15.

What is this book about?

Power, politics and pirates collide in Vulture, the finale of the epic YA fantasy series The Isles of Storm and Sorrow, perfect for fans of Pirates of the Caribbean.

We are all one misstep away from being the villain...

Marianne has passed the ultimate test required to be a Mage. She is finally powerful enough to reunite the Twelve Isles.

But having exposed herself to the darker side of magic, Marianne is struggling. The magic within her is nearly impossible to control, and she becomes cruel and violent, mercilessly pursuing those who have harmed her in the past, ignoring the…


Book cover of The Windflower

Regan Walker Author Of Summer Warrior

From my list on pirate sea stories.

Why am I passionate about this?

I am an author of romantic historical fiction and a book reviewer of more than 1,000 books. I also have a blog: Historical Romance Review. I love deep historicals—both my own and those written by others--that bring history and realistic love stories to life. Adventure and love on the high seas is my favorite setting.

Regan's book list on pirate sea stories

Regan Walker Why did Regan love this book?

Set during the War of 1812 this is a great pirate romance. It tells the story of innocent, sheltered Merry Wilding, an American living in Virginia with her maiden aunt. Merry has a talent for drawing faces from memory, a talent her brother, an American spy will use to his benefit, exposing her to pirates and worse. On her way to England with her aunt, she is kidnapped. Taken to a pirate ship, Merry meets the English pirate, Devon, who remembers her from a night long ago. 

The writing is superb, the characters courageous, heartwarming, and very special; the descriptions vivid. The story is a wonder to read. You will be swept away on a pirate ship to experience adventures, battles at sea, storms, death, humor, and love.

By Laura London,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Windflower as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The classic tale of passion on the high seas, available in print for the first time in 20 years ...Merry Wilding is a lady of breeding, of innocence, and of breathtaking beauty. With high hopes for a holiday in England, she sets sail from New York-but the tide of her life is destined to turn. Mistakenly swept aboard an infamous pirate ship, Merry finds herself at the mercy of a wicked crew ...and one sinfully handsome pirate. Soon she's spending her days yearning for escape, and her nights learning the pleasures of captivity. Devon Crandall believes Merry is in league…


Book cover of Howard Pyle's Book of Pirates

David Poxon Author Of Watercolour, Heart & Soul

From my list on art influences.

Why am I passionate about this?

As a 5-year-old boy, I was given a tin of watercolour paints by my Grandmother. I had no idea how to use them, and there was no one around to teach me. I had to find my own way. Around the same time I was taken on a day trip to London, where we visited the Tate Gallery. It was there that I was confronted for the first time by the magnificent paintings of J.M.W.Turner. My love for art was ignited. I became a serious student of art, and although I have had to make a living in the world like everyone else, art became my go-to therapy for relief and recreation.

David's book list on art influences

David Poxon Why did David love this book?

On a day trip to Cambridge UK I was in an old book store. I could not believe my good fortune when I spotted an old-worn book entitled Howard Pyle’s Book of Pirates. I realised immediately that Pyle was the art teacher of N.C.Wyeth, the styles of the 2 are interchangeable. This book contains numerous Pirate stories, which Pyle wrote himself. Obviously the text is now very antiquated, but there are numerous illustrations illustrating Pirate battles and adventure. Pyle wrote and taught art in the late 19th Century. Any student of the Wyeth’s should check him out.

By Howard Pyle,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Howard Pyle's Book of Pirates as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 12, 13, 14, and 15.

What is this book about?

Pirates, Buccaneers, Marooners, those cruel but picturesque sea wolves who once infested the Spanish Main, all live in present-day conceptions in great degree as drawn by the pen and pencil of Howard Pyle….It is improbable that anyone else will ever bring his combination of interest and talent to the depiction of these old-time Pirates, any more than there could be a second Remington to paint the now extinct Indians and gun-fighters of the Great West.


Book cover of Almost a Lady

S.M. Harlow Author Of The Lover of The Opera

From my list on to fall in love with historical romance.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’ve been in love with HR novels ever since my parents took me to a bookstore when I was fifteen, where for the first time, I stepped into an aisle filled with romance. It was love at first sight, as I searched for that one book that called to me. After finishing that book, my world had changed. Now, seventeen years later, as a published author for both New Age and Historical Romance, I still feverishly read romance books to continue feeding that internal flame of love and passion I still have for Historical Romance. I hope you enjoy the books on this list as much as I have.

S.M.'s book list on to fall in love with historical romance

S.M. Harlow Why did S.M. love this book?

Almost A Lady is filled with love, passion, and adventure for the restless soul. It has a fiery heroine who isn’t afraid to fight for her life, and the most ideal roguish pirate scoundrel one longs for in a Historical Romance. The perfect enemies-to-lovers tale that will have you staying up late for more. I loved this book because it revealed far more than what a traditional HR setting could be. It gave me love and peril and a hot slow-burn of fervor and intensity one needs in a great Historical Romance.

By Jane Feather,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Almost a Lady as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

In this exhilarating new novel of romance and intrigue, New York Times bestselling author Jane Feather tells the tale of an adventurous young woman and the hardened spy who is unexpectedly–and most inconveniently–captivated by her....

Independent and inquisitive, Meg Barratt wants nothing to do with any stifling society marriage. Meg yearns for the kind of passion that exists only in books–until a violent storm lands her on the high seas with the most dangerous and seductive man she’s ever encountered…or imagined.

For Cosimo, women are objects, to be manipulated for business or pleasure…sometimes both. But when the seafaring assassin accidentally…


Book cover of A Search for Sovereignty: Law and Geography in European Empires, 1400-1900

Claire Jowitt Author Of The Culture of Piracy, 1580-1630: English Literature and Seaborne Crime

From my list on pirates in the age of sail.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’m a writer-researcher based at the University of East Anglia. My work is driven by a love of travel and the sea, and an interest in how people move between cultures and ideas across time. I’ve written widely on early modern travel writing and maritime culture, plays about cultural encounter including first contact, and the intersections between ideas about gender, race, colonial and/or imperial identities, and power. At heart, I’m a cultural historian interested in how people and writing can say one thing but mean another.

Claire's book list on pirates in the age of sail

Claire Jowitt Why did Claire love this book?

This book uses seventeenth- and early eighteenth-century piracy as one of its case studies to make innovative arguments about global history. Through a discussion of piracy, Benton seeks to transform our understanding of the significance of oceanic space. Though empires might assert control over territories and their inhabitants, in fact, their jurisdiction, or sovereignty, was uneven – thinner in some places than others, and only realized in fits and starts.


For Benton, the spatial figure of the corridor as a conduit for law and jurisdiction is vital to understanding the geography and movement of early modern imperial power. Inconsistencies in the application of prize law, the regulation of privateering, and the prosecution of piracy graphically show the unevenness of sovereignty at sea and the ways by which all types of mariner attempted to mark out jurisdictional corridors as they traversed the world's waters.

By Lauren Benton,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked A Search for Sovereignty as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

A Search for Sovereignty approaches world history by examining the relation of law and geography in European empires between 1400 and 1900. Lauren Benton argues that Europeans imagined imperial space as networks of corridors and enclaves, and that they constructed sovereignty in ways that merged ideas about geography and law. Conflicts over treason, piracy, convict transportation, martial law, and crime created irregular spaces of law, while also attaching legal meanings to familiar geographic categories such as rivers, oceans, islands, and mountains. The resulting legal and spatial anomalies influenced debates about imperial constitutions and international law both in the colonies and…


Book cover of History of the Pirates Who Infested the China Sea from 1807-1810
Book cover of Pirates of the South China Coast, 1790-1810
Book cover of I Sailed with Chinese Pirates

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