Literary Awards for Author Samuel Marquis (American History and Historical Fiction)

• #1 Denver Post Bestselling Author (Fiction)
• Winner Kirkus Reviews’ Book of the Year
• Winner Foreword Reviews’ Book of the Year
• Winner Independent Publisher Book Awards 
• Winner Readers’ Favorite Book Awards
• Winner Beverly Hills Book Awards
• Winner Next Generation Indie Book Awards
• Winner National Indie Excellence Awards
• Award-Winning Finalist USA Best Book Awards
• Award-Winning Finalist American Book Fest Best Book Awards
• Award-Winning Finalist Colorado Book Awards

Praise for Samuel Marquis and his American History Books

“In Empire and Frontier, Samuel Marquis delivers a gripping, well-researched narrative that illuminates one of the more overlooked chapters in early American history. Vivid and insightful, this book puts you on the gritty edge of the frontier.”
—Patrick K. O’Donnell, historian and author of The Unvanquished and Revolutionary Snipers

“Few authors could tell Captain Kidd’s complicated story as well as Samuel Marquis.”
—Kris Lane, PhD, Professor of History, Tulane University, and author of Pillaging the Empire

“Riveting revisionist history. Drawing on a deep well of scholarship, Marquis’s meticulous version of events…is a caustic takedown of a centuries-old hit job.”
—Publishers Weekly (Starred Review for Captain Kidd)

In Empire and Frontier, Samuel Marquis recovers a pivotal but long-neglected chapter of early U.S. history. He writes with the narrative drive of the best popular historians, and his eye for character, human complexity, and cross-cultural nuance makes this essential reading.
—Greg Grandin, PhD, Pulitzer Prize-winning historian and author of America, América: A New History of the New World

 

“Marquis is a student of history, always creative, [and] never boring…. A good comparison might be Tom Clancy.”
—Military.com

“Captain Kidd is lively and well-researched. If you enjoy a good read about piracy this is a book for you.”
—Robert Ritchie, Ph.D., former Foundation Director of Research, Huntington Library, Professor of History-UCSD, and author of Captain Kidd and the War against the Pirates

“Marquis grabs my attention right from the beginning and never lets go.”
—Governor Roy R. Romer, General Chairman of the DNC and 39th Governor of Colorado

“With Captain Kidd, Samuel Marquis deftly separates the man from the myth in a rollicking tale that proves that true stories are the best ones.”
—Buddy Levy, bestselling author of Realm of Ice and Sky and Empire of Ice and Stone

“Like Colin Woodard’s The Republic of Pirates (2007), Keith Thomson’s Born to Be Hanged (2022), and the popular TV series Black Sails, Captain Kidd makes us feel immersed in the world as it was three centuries ago. An important addition to the literature of piracy.”
—Booklist

Marquis paints the life of the inimitable Captain Kidd in bold, rich colors. A dashing, absorbing tale.”
—Stephan Talty, bestselling author of Empire of Blue Water

“Fast-paced, quirky, and opinionated, Empire and Frontier is a book to be noticed.”
—Daniel K. Richter, PhD, Professor at the University of Pennsylvania and author of The Ordeal of the Longhouse

“Captain Kidd presents one of the most intriguing tales of all time, with Marquis bringing it to life through a blend of Clive Cussler-esque prose and Biblical-scholar-level research.”
—Keith Thomson, author of Born to Be Hanged

“Fascinating and richly detailed, Empire and Frontier vividly brings back to life an eighteenth century America where wars were fought with tomahawks and smooth-bore muskets, and combatants travelled by snowshoes and in birchbark canoes. But out of this polyglot and often brutal frontier came the beginnings of a new kind of politics, for a brand-new kind of nation.”
—Scott Ellsworth, bestselling author of Midnight on the Potomac

“Deftly written, organized and presented… A unique and unreservedly recommended addition to community, college, and university library World War II history collections and supplemental curriculum studies.”
—Midwest Book Review (for Soldiers of Freedom)

 

“The Coalition has a lot of good action and suspense [and] an unusual female assassin.”
—James Patterson, #1 New York Times Bestselling Author

“Samuel Marquis makes history feel like a thrilling drama rather than a dry textbook lesson. Captain Kidd is a great read for anyone who loves history, adventure, or just a great true story.”
—K.C. Finn for Readers’ Favorite (Five-Star Review, 2025 Readers’ Favorite Gold Medal-Winner)

“Captain Kidd is a well-researched and thoroughly readable account of the rise and downfall of this enigmatic character and is a welcome addition to the world of pirate history.”
—James L. Nelson, author of Benedict Arnold’s Navy

“Captain Kidd is utterly fascinating!”
—Andrew Lawler, Smithsonian Institution contributor and author of A Perfect Frenzy: A Royal Governor, His Black Allies, and the Crisis that Spurred the American Revolution

“Samuel Marquis provides the reader with a remarkable impression of Captain William Kidd, one that attempts to reincarnate the real person rather than the caricatured and often enigmatic villain-trope.”
—Benerson Little, historian and author of The Golden Age of Piracy and The Sea Rover’s Practice

“Marquis has written a fascinating and engaging new study of the pirate Captain Kidd. A must-read for all pirate fans and scholars!”
— Rebecca Simon, PhD, historian and author of Why We Love Pirates and Pirate Queens

“Marquis writes quite well, but his real contribution with Blackbeard: The Birth of America is historical…. An engrossing and historically grounded yarn.”
—Kirkus Reviews

“In the richness of the texture of his material, Marquis far exceeds the stance of a mere raconteur and entertainer of the masses—he, in fact, becomes a public historian.”
—Lois C. Henderson, Bookpleasures.com – 5-Star Review for Blackbeard: The Birth of America

“Spies of the Midnight Sun is not only a skillful, rapid-fire historical spy thriller, but also a fine source on one of the least-known and most heroic chapters of the Second World War.”
—Kirkus Reviews

“Told through multiple viewpoints in a series of vivid scenes, Lions of the Desert is rather like a multi-character miniseries (a miniseries I’d love to see!)…. Terrific storytelling.”
—Historical Novel Society

 

 

“Empire and Frontier combines the charm and accessibility of biographical writing with the analytical probing of academic scholarship. Samuel Marquis does a great service to the field of diplomatic history [and] the role that individuals play in shaping the fates of nations.”
—Guy Chet, PhD, Professor of History, University of North Carolina, and author of The Ocean is a Wilderness and The Colonists’ American Revolution