Author. Born in Jesi, Italy to Anna Trafford an English opera singer and accompanist and Vincenzo Sabatini an Italian opera singer. As a child he was given to the care of his maternal grandparents and grew up in England. At seven, his parents retired from touring and established themselves as voice and music teachers, and he returned to their household in Porto, Portugal. Within a few years the family returned to Italy and settled in Milan, and Sabatini was sent to school in Zug, Switzerland where he learned French and German. After school he returned to England where he worked for several years as a translator for shipping concerns. He began writing short fiction in 1895 and within four years sold regularly to national magazines such as Pearson's Magazine, London Magazine, and Royal Magazine. He was contracted to write a novel in 1901 and the following year 'The Suitors of Yvonne' was published in London. With the publication of 'The Tavern Knight' in 1904, he dedicated himself as a full time novelist. 'The Sea Hawk' appeared in 1915, 'Scaramouche' in 1921, followed a year later by 'Captain Blood', both of which became international bestsellers, and 'The Black Swan' published in 1932, all were translated into now classic films. His career spanned some forty-five years and encompassed over thirty novels, half a dozen collections of short fiction, and another six nonfiction historical writings. By the winter of 1950, he was gravely ill with apparent stomach cancer, he insisted, however, upon taking his annual journey to Switzerland. His health continued to decline and he died in Adelboden at the age of seventy-four.
Author. Born in Jesi, Italy to Anna Trafford an English opera singer and accompanist and Vincenzo Sabatini an Italian opera singer. As a child he was given to the care of his maternal grandparents and grew up in England. At seven, his parents retired from touring and established themselves as voice and music teachers, and he returned to their household in Porto, Portugal. Within a few years the family returned to Italy and settled in Milan, and Sabatini was sent to school in Zug, Switzerland where he learned French and German. After school he returned to England where he worked for several years as a translator for shipping concerns. He began writing short fiction in 1895 and within four years sold regularly to national magazines such as Pearson's Magazine, London Magazine, and Royal Magazine. He was contracted to write a novel in 1901 and the following year 'The Suitors of Yvonne' was published in London. With the publication of 'The Tavern Knight' in 1904, he dedicated himself as a full time novelist. 'The Sea Hawk' appeared in 1915, 'Scaramouche' in 1921, followed a year later by 'Captain Blood', both of which became international bestsellers, and 'The Black Swan' published in 1932, all were translated into now classic films. His career spanned some forty-five years and encompassed over thirty novels, half a dozen collections of short fiction, and another six nonfiction historical writings. By the winter of 1950, he was gravely ill with apparent stomach cancer, he insisted, however, upon taking his annual journey to Switzerland. His health continued to decline and he died in Adelboden at the age of seventy-four.
Bio by: Iola
Inscription
He was born with a gift of laughter
and a sense that the world was mad.
The moving finger writes; and, having writ,
moves on; nor all your piety nor wit
shall lure it back to cancel half a line,
nor all your tears wash out a word of it.
Family Members
Advertisement
See more Sabatini memorials in:
Records on Ancestry
Advertisement
