The Lionkeeper of Algiers: How an American Captive Rose to Power in Barbary and Saved His Homeland from War

The history of “one of the most remarkable figures in the early story of the fledgling United States” is unearthed in this intriguing biography from journalist Ekin (The Stolen Village). In 1785, an 18-year-old seaman and Revolutionary War veteran, James Leander Cathcart, was captured off the coast of Portugal by Barbary pirates and held prisoner in “the maverick North African statelet of Algiers.” Though Cathcart “start[ed] off as a lionkeeper, shoveling dung in the cages of the dey’s private zoo,” he soon employed his “flair for languages and his formidable networking skills” to become “chief clerk at the palace—the most powerful position an outsider can attain.” Still a captive, he ran a chain of taverns, from which he secretly diverted food to the other American sailors being held hostage—at one point, there were more than 100. Released on parole by the ruler of Algiers, Cathcart sailed to Philadelphia in 1796 to help salvage a peace treaty between the Algerines and the U.S.; he then returned to finalize the deal before taking his post as the U.S. consul to Tripoli. Ekin sets a brisk pace through Cathcart’s astounding life story and weaves in intriguing details about his fellow hostages, 18th-century foreign diplomacy, and the history of the Barbary States. The result is a riveting tale of adventure and survival. Illus. (Mar.)