 "Captain Singleton" is believed to have been partly inspired by the exploits of the English pirate Henry Every, who operated in the late 17th century.The narrative describes the life of the Englishman, Singleton, stolen from a well-to-do family as a child and raised by Gypsies, eventually making his way to sea.The former half of the book concerns Singleton's crossing of Africa, the latter half concerning his life as a pirate in the Indian Ocean and Arabian Sea.