Ariel Lawhon has written another masterpiece of historical fiction with “The Pirate Queen.” This novel is 500 pages long, with many characters and lots of Irish names and vocabulary – but it is fascinating!! The book covers the life of Grace O’Malley, who was a true Irish pirate queen in the 1500’s. The chapters are not written chronologically. . . rather, they alternate from Maiden – where Grace is young; to Mother – where Grace is married and raising children; to Matriarch – where Grace is in her later years. At first, the timeline seems confusing, but I loved it once I got into the book.
Grainne Ni Mhaille O’Malley (Grace) is well-known in folklore as the Pirate Queen of Ireland. She has an independent spirit and a love for the sea, despite societal expectations for her to be a mild mannered, subservient woman. The stories of Grace’s life swept me up and kept me engaged throughout this book – what an amazing novel!
“The Pirate Queen” is such a wonderful novel, especially for those who love historical fiction! Please check it out!!! (In the author’s note, Lawhon suggests that on a second reading, one could read all the Maiden chapters, then the Mother chapters and finally the Matriarch chapters – thus getting a different perspective as it would read chronologically.)
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