RICHARD KNIGHT'S TREASURE! The True Story of His Extraordinary Quest for Captain Kidd's Cache

by Glenys Roberts ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 4, 1987

A spirited story of unemployed British actor Richard Knight and his discovery of Captain Kidd's pirate treasure in the China Sea. Knight, who toured as a one-man show (among other acts, he did Danny Kaye's tongue-twister ""Tchaikovsky""), was out of work in Hollywood when he read Rupert Furneaux' The Money Pit Mystery, about a ""bottomless pit"" where three teen-age Nova Scotians discovered the seeming site of a treasure hoard amassed by Captain Kidd. PiquÉd, Knight was led from one book--and one large map collection--to another, until he had swept up various maps tied to Kidd. He decided that everyone before him had read these maps incorrectly, and that the actual treasure site was Hon Tre Lon, a small island off Vietnam. After much scratching about for backers, he landed solo on Hon Tre Long, dug up three trunks filled with treasure, and reburied his find on another island in the Gulf of Thailand. Fearful of customs inspectors, he carried no coins or gems back with him, but on a return visit to Hon Tre Lon was arrested by the Vietnamese and jailed for 15 months as a spy. Later, Western well-wishers paid a large ransom for him. Before being freed, however, he was taken to Hon Tre Lon and made to search the treasure (he'd not told them he'd already found it); he tramped about purposefully, avoiding the site. Knight plans to return for his own hoard, hopes to dispose of the treasure in one batch to a museum, and has his eye on two caches remaining on Hon Tre Lon. Lively, amusing, and quite believable, especially in his discovery and description of the hoard.

Pub Date: Sept. 4, 1987

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Viking

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1987

Categories: NONFICTION