This article is about the Dead Men Tell No Tales prequel novel. You may be looking for the soundtrack theme, "The Brightest Star in the North". |
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales: The Brightest Star in the North: The Adventures of Carina Smyth is a 240-page novel that serves as a prequel to the 2017 film, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales, and reveals the background of Carina Smyth.
Back cover[]
Carina Smyth has always known she was destined to study the stars. Growing up in an orphanage, she's made it her mission to understand the token her father left her—the diary of famed astronomer Galileo Galilei. And when she is sent to work at a grand estate, Carina continues her studies, finding an unexpected tutor and a life of possibility there.
But upon discovering a mysterious map in the diary, Carina is led to the Caribbean for answers. Soon she is swept into a world filled with pirates, terrifying ghosts, and a gallant soldier on his own quest. Will Carina uncover the truth about the map, and her past? Or will this adventure of a lifetime prove to be more dangerous than she could ever have dreamed?
Plot[]
Prologue[]
- "May the stars guide you. Better than I ever could. Stay safe. And remember your namesake, the star that will always lead you home. Carina. The brightest star in the north."
- ―The man to infant Carina
On an island one night, as a storm brews, a man in a heavy coat and a feathered hat hobbles toward an orphanage with a basket in his hands. Wanting to remain unseen, the man raises his coat collar a bit more and hobbles faster. Seeing no one in sight, he gently places the basket on the orphanage steps. Then he lifts the blanket to see a baby girl still sleeping inside and looks at her for a moment. When the wind grows strong, he places the blanket back over the infant. The man takes a book with a large ruby on the cover from his satchel and puts it next to the baby with a note that reads, "Her mother died. Her name is Carina Smyth" The man tells Carina to stay safe and remember that she was named after the brightest star in the north.
Part One: The Orphan's Token[]
- "I was just standing up for James. The boys mocked him, stole his token, and then the keepers took it. He was wronged by everyone. Where is the justice in that?"
- ―Carina to Mrs. Altwood
In the English countryside, eight-year-old Carina and her friend James creep up to a small one-level building. James nervously tells Carina they shouldn't be doing this as he doesn't want to be whipped again should they get caught. Carina insists they won't get caught and that since James didn't deserve to have something taken away from him, he should have it back and get justice. They raise a window and Carina jams a stick into place to keep it open. Carina and James slip inside and into a dark room. She quietly leads James toward the treasure, a small bag of marbles on a table corner. She takes out an identical bag filled with small stones from her shift pocket, quickly replaces the treasure bag with the bag of stones, and gives the marbles to James. They heard footsteps outside the door and hurry back to the window. Carina gives James a lift out the window, but before she can jump through, the door opened. Then Carina removes the stick from the windowsill, and the window slams shut.
Mr. Conway, the secretary of Carina's current orphange, and a plainly-dressed woman enter the room and he addresses Carina. She innocently says she wanted to cool off from the heat and Conway tells her she's not allowed in the keepers' quarters. He grabs the bag of stones and, to Carina's relief, mistakes it for the marble bag. Noticing Carina smiling, Mr. Conway asks her if she thinks this is a game. Carina's smart-aleck attitude makes Conway threaten to have her whipped. Then the woman, Mrs. Altwood, one of the main keepers of the orphanage, tells him not to blame Carina for wanting to escape the heat and assures Carina will not do it again. Then Altwood touches the stone bag, but unlike Conway, she isn't fooled by it. She offers to take Carina down to the creek where it's cooler, and women are washing clothes so Carina can help them. Carina hates washing clothes and knows it's not really cooler by the creek, but has the feeling that Mrs. Altwood already knows this and the truth about the marbles, so she accompanies Altwood outside.
As Altwood takes Carina though a field toward the creek, Carina insists that James wasn't at fault and didn't deserve to have his marbles taken away since the other boys stole them and teased him at breakfast. Mrs. Altwood says she will deal with the boys and tells Carina she must stay out of trouble. She says Carina must learn her place as a young lady and watch her mouth with powerful men like Conway or else she will be whipped or will land in prison. Reaching the creek, older girls from the orphanage and village women are handling dirty laundry. Carina says that she was standing up for James, and wanted him to get justice. Mrs. Atwood tells Carina that everyone faces justice in a matter of time but she should focus on staying out of trouble and becoming the young lady her father wanted. Hearing mention of her father gives Carina pause before she pouts and nods. Altwood tells Carina to start scrubbing so the girl grabs a washboard as she storms off. A lady walks up to Altwood and says Carina could use a good lashing for the devil's tongue she possesses. Altwood agrees somewhat but knowing Carina's heart is in the right place, she believes it's better to direct Carina's energy so it could become useful rather than repress it.
Part Two: Hanover Hall[]
Part Three: Minding the Heavens[]
Part Four: The Caribbean[]
Appearances[]
Individuals[]
- Carina Smyth (First appearance)
- Hector Barbossa
- James (First appearance)
- Mr. Conway (First appearance)
- Mrs. Altwood (First appearance)
- Lord Willoughby (First appearance)
- Sarah (First appearance)
- Dark-haired woman (First appearance)
- Mrs. Rossi (First appearance)
- Celia (First appearance)
- Lady Devonshire (First appearance)
- Lord Devonshire (First mentioned)
- Charles Swift (First appearance)
- George Swift (First appearance)
- John Scarfield (First appearance)
- British Officer (First appearance)
- Young soldier (First appearance)
- Hangman (First appearance)
- Jack Sparrow
- Scrum
- Marty
- Armando Salazar (First appearance)
- Margaret Smyth (First mentioned)
- Galileo Galilei (First mentioned)
- Scrum's mother (First mentioned)
- Poseidon (Mentioned only)
- Blackbeard (Mentioned only)
- Will Turner
- Devil (Mentioned only)
- God (Mentioned only)
- Isaac Newton (Mentioned only)
- Nicolaus Copernicus (First mentioned)
- Edward the Blue (First mentioned)
Creatures[]
- Horse
- Kraken (Mentioned only)
- Mermaid (Mentioned only)
- Donkey (Mentioned only)
- Goat (Mentioned only)
- Demon (Mentioned only)
Locations[]
- England
- Hanover Hall (First appearance)
- London (Mentioned only)
- West Africa (Mentioned only)
- Caribbean
- Saint Martin (First appearance)
- Saint Martin Town (First appearance)
- Swift and Sons Chart House (First appearance)
- Saint Martin prison (First appearance)
- Saint Martin Town (First appearance)
- Hangman's Bay (First appearance)
- Black rock island (First appearance)
- Poseidon's Tomb (First appearance)
- Saint Martin (First appearance)
- France (Mentioned only)
- Italy (Mentioned only)
Organizations and titles[]
- Crew of the Silent Mary
- British Royal Navy
- Crew of the Dying Gull
- Crew of the Queen Anne's Revenge
- Lord
- Lady
- Captain
- Sir
- Lieutenant
- Esquire
- Housemaid
- Governess (Mentioned only)
Objects[]
- Sword of Triton
- Diary of Galileo Galilei (First appearance)
- Trident of Poseidon
- Gallows
- Hangman's noose
- Guillotine
- Stockade (Mentioned only)
- Jack Sparrow's hat
- Hector Barbossa's peg leg
- Hector Barbossa's hat
- Portrait
- Globe
- Telescope
- Astrolabe
- Quadrant
- Compass
- Map
- Ruby
- Diamond
Ships[]
- Dying Gull (First appearance)
- Monarch (Mentioned only)
- Black Pearl
- Silent Mary (First appearance)
- Essex (First appearance)
- Flying Dutchman
- Unnamed merchant ship (First appearance)
Miscellanea[]
- Blackguard (Mentioned only)
- Dark Magic (Mentioned only)
- Keelhauling (Mentioned only)
- Mark my words
- Scalawag (Mentioned only)
- Storm (Mentioned only)
- Third eye (Mentioned only)
- Walk the plank (Mentioned only)
- X marks the spot (Mentioned only)
Trivia[]
- Lord and Lady Devonshire are a possible reference to William and Caroline Herschel, the German siblings who made great advances in astronomy while living in Great Britain during the second half of the 18th century. The Herschel telescope appears in Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales.