Stede Bonnet’s Illegitimate Son?

In almost all of my book talks, I hear a question about “Stephen Bonnet,” the pirate, smuggler, sometimes murderer scallywag from the popular Starz series The Outlander.

“I’ve heard the Bonnet name before, isn’t he from Outlander?”

“Is the Stephen Bonnet character based on Stede Bonnet?”

“Is Stede Bonnet somehow related to Stephen Bonnet from Outlander?”

After some research, turns out the answer is YES, YES and YES.

See the series of tweets below from Outlander writer Diana Gabaldon. Another wonderful example of the connectivity and boundary removal that Twitter brings.

Are you an Outlander fan? What do you think Stede’s ” illegitimate son, Stephen?

Kind of a mushroom for whom I prepared a bed of mulch, let's put it that way. <g> I've always liked pirates–stories and histories–and having met Stede Bonnet, I thought "hmm…." But Stede was too early. But then I thought…so what if he had an illegitimate son? Voila… https://t.co/0pjauUm1tw

— Diana Gabaldon (@Writer_DG) May 15, 2021

Probably Stede Bonnet you ran into. <g> A little older than our Stephen–who I think was probably Stede's illegitimate son… https://t.co/5P1F51lk8y

— Diana Gabaldon (@Writer_DG) September 30, 2016

No, he shouldn't. He's Irish, and (probably) the illegitimate son of Stede Bonnet, a notable English pirate. https://t.co/vqRsCoH6K3

— Diana Gabaldon (@Writer_DG) November 7, 2018

Want to read more about the real life and trials of the Gentleman Pirate, Stede Bonnet? Check out my book on Amazon or wherever books are sold.

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