Book Review: The Pirate Queen by Ariel Lawhon

My Review

In 1500's England, Grace O'Malley grows up loving the sea.  She wants to sail, like her father, but she is a girl from a prominent family, so she is expected to marry and raise children.  She is forced into an arranged marriage and separated from her first love.  Later Grace finds her way back to the sea and adventure as a pirate.  This sweeping novel tells her life story from childhood to her later years.

I wanted to read The Pirate Queen because I saw a play about Grace O'Malley's life years ago and found it fascinating.  I have always wanted to know more about her.  I love historical fiction, so really looked forward to this novel.

This is a big book, told in three parts that weave through the book: Maiden (Grace's young years), Mother (her marriages and children), and Matriarch (her pirate years and later life).  These sections repeat throughout the structure of the book;  I thought this unique and winding narrative would take some getting used to, but it works really well in telling Grace's story.

The book begins with a long cast of characters and a glossary of Gaelic words and definitions.  The very lengthy cast of characters was a bit off-putting, but I just dove in to read and had no issues keeping the characters (including those with same/similar first names) straight.  The characterizations in this book are so well developed and the primary characters have a great deal of depth and nuance.

Grace is a fascinating person - even more so, of course, because she was a real historical figure.  I found her longing for the sea, for adventure, for wanting more in her life than what women in the 16th century could have so moving and compelling.

My favorite scene in the book is the long-awaited meeting between Grace and Queen Elizabeth I.  Their conversation and the things left unsaid were so telling about women in this time period.

I highly recommend The Pirate Queen for historical fiction readers, and especially for anyone interested in the Elizabethan England or pirates.  I look forward to reading other Ariel Lawhon novels as well.

Thanks to Doubleday Books and Netgalley for an advanced reading copy of this book.