Book Review: “The Pirate Queen” by Alan Gold
Title: The Pirate Queen
Author: Alan Gold
Year: 2006
Category: Historical Fiction
I first learned of Gráinne Ní Mháille, anglicized as Grace O'Malley, in Morgan Llyewelyn's “Grania”, a book I bought for 99 cents off a sale table many years ago.
She was an Irish pirate leader and a contemporary of Queen Elizabeth I, whom she met late in their lives. Aside from their meeting, little is recorded about her besides the bare facts of her parentage and progeny, a situation almost perfect for embellishing upon.
When I saw the subtitle “The Story of Grace O'Malley, Irish Pirate” adorning Alan Gold's novel on the new books shelf at the library, I was interested enough to pick it up, despite the rather melodramatic art[1].
As it turns out, this is one of those books that you can judge by its cover. It is slick, glossy, seems reasonably (if a little vaguely) historical, and the pretty heroine stands alone with her weapons, in garb and pose suggesting that she not only gets plenty, but kicks ass while doing so.
Alan Gold takes us through the life of rebellious young Grace, starting with her adolescent decision to cut her hair and sneak aboard her father's trading ship. She later marries to please her family, but her husband is a hot-headed war-mongering wastrel, and she turns to piracy to fund his clan.
As a historical conceit, Gold also presents parallel portions of Elizabeth's life, from her time in the Tower through her years as a monarch, presumably so that we may contrast and compare the two Queens. In contrast to Grace's uninhibited sexuality and open-hearted adventures, Elizabeth is portrayed as chafing against the restraints of her role, and jealous of women whose behaviour counterpoints her virginity, notably Mary, Queen of Scots. She reads a bit shrill to me.
There are certain things in the novel which make me wince. One is Robert Dudley calling Queen Elizabeth “Beth”. The actual period nickname was “Bess”, and to this day, she is still referred to as “Good Queen Bess”.
Also, there is some inaccuracy with historical facts. IIRC, Queen Elizabeth did not set up the marriage between Queen Mary and Lord Darnley. She opposed it, because Darnley was a cousin of hers, and marrying him would strengthen Mary's claim to Elizabeth's own throne. The Countess Lennox, Darnley's mother, was thrown into the Tower for arranging it.
Another annoyance is the use of the “word“ fuchking. At first I thought this was supposed to be some sort of Irishism, like shite. But when Queen Elizabeth uses it, I realized it was probably a piece of faux-historicity, using bizarre orthography to try and add “flavour”. It didn't work, and kept throwing me out of the narrative as I mentally pronounced it the way it was spelt.
I suppose I should be grateful that Elizabeth still addresses Dudley as “Robin”, instead of “Bobby”.
That's not entirely a fair quote, but it is representative of certain aspects of the book. There's plenty of adventure on the high seas and arguments at home, both showing off Grace's cleverness and ability, but there's also plenty of sex, described in a slightly overblown manner. I found both the euphemisms used, and the dialogue engaged in, unintentionally hilarious.
In a way, it reminds me of a romance novel I once read[2], also about an Irish pirate queen (this one entirely fictional) who was portrayed as being all woman in a man's world and enjoying frequent encounters, overcoming obstacles with the sheer force of her charm.
While the history is a bit iffy, and decided liberties have been taken, I did find “The Pirate Queen” entertaining. However, I also found the short author interview in the back about his sources and motivation for writing this to be more engaging than the novel itself.
[1] A cleavage-baring redhead wielding sword and gun, with ships flying Jolly Rogers and engaging in boarding manoeuvres in background and on the back cover, in case you were wondering.
[2] “Mistress of the Eagles”, by Elona Malterre. She'd previously written a fairly decent retelling of the Deirdre of the Sorrows myth, and something about Brian Boru which I haven't read, and the book came with a nice Tom Canty cover[3], so I thought, “Hey, quasi-historical adventure!” I was wrong about that.
[3] Best known for illustrating fantasy novels.
Author: Alan Gold
Year: 2006
Category: Historical Fiction
I first learned of Gráinne Ní Mháille, anglicized as Grace O'Malley, in Morgan Llyewelyn's “Grania”, a book I bought for 99 cents off a sale table many years ago.
She was an Irish pirate leader and a contemporary of Queen Elizabeth I, whom she met late in their lives. Aside from their meeting, little is recorded about her besides the bare facts of her parentage and progeny, a situation almost perfect for embellishing upon.
When I saw the subtitle “The Story of Grace O'Malley, Irish Pirate” adorning Alan Gold's novel on the new books shelf at the library, I was interested enough to pick it up, despite the rather melodramatic art[1].
As it turns out, this is one of those books that you can judge by its cover. It is slick, glossy, seems reasonably (if a little vaguely) historical, and the pretty heroine stands alone with her weapons, in garb and pose suggesting that she not only gets plenty, but kicks ass while doing so.
Alan Gold takes us through the life of rebellious young Grace, starting with her adolescent decision to cut her hair and sneak aboard her father's trading ship. She later marries to please her family, but her husband is a hot-headed war-mongering wastrel, and she turns to piracy to fund his clan.
As a historical conceit, Gold also presents parallel portions of Elizabeth's life, from her time in the Tower through her years as a monarch, presumably so that we may contrast and compare the two Queens. In contrast to Grace's uninhibited sexuality and open-hearted adventures, Elizabeth is portrayed as chafing against the restraints of her role, and jealous of women whose behaviour counterpoints her virginity, notably Mary, Queen of Scots. She reads a bit shrill to me.
There are certain things in the novel which make me wince. One is Robert Dudley calling Queen Elizabeth “Beth”. The actual period nickname was “Bess”, and to this day, she is still referred to as “Good Queen Bess”.
Also, there is some inaccuracy with historical facts. IIRC, Queen Elizabeth did not set up the marriage between Queen Mary and Lord Darnley. She opposed it, because Darnley was a cousin of hers, and marrying him would strengthen Mary's claim to Elizabeth's own throne. The Countess Lennox, Darnley's mother, was thrown into the Tower for arranging it.
Another annoyance is the use of the “word“ fuchking. At first I thought this was supposed to be some sort of Irishism, like shite. But when Queen Elizabeth uses it, I realized it was probably a piece of faux-historicity, using bizarre orthography to try and add “flavour”. It didn't work, and kept throwing me out of the narrative as I mentally pronounced it the way it was spelt.
I suppose I should be grateful that Elizabeth still addresses Dudley as “Robin”, instead of “Bobby”.
“Oh, Grace, trust me when I tell you that an Irishman's meat is not only more ample but far sweeter than any Turk's.”
That's not entirely a fair quote, but it is representative of certain aspects of the book. There's plenty of adventure on the high seas and arguments at home, both showing off Grace's cleverness and ability, but there's also plenty of sex, described in a slightly overblown manner. I found both the euphemisms used, and the dialogue engaged in, unintentionally hilarious.
In a way, it reminds me of a romance novel I once read[2], also about an Irish pirate queen (this one entirely fictional) who was portrayed as being all woman in a man's world and enjoying frequent encounters, overcoming obstacles with the sheer force of her charm.
While the history is a bit iffy, and decided liberties have been taken, I did find “The Pirate Queen” entertaining. However, I also found the short author interview in the back about his sources and motivation for writing this to be more engaging than the novel itself.
[1] A cleavage-baring redhead wielding sword and gun, with ships flying Jolly Rogers and engaging in boarding manoeuvres in background and on the back cover, in case you were wondering.
[2] “Mistress of the Eagles”, by Elona Malterre. She'd previously written a fairly decent retelling of the Deirdre of the Sorrows myth, and something about Brian Boru which I haven't read, and the book came with a nice Tom Canty cover[3], so I thought, “Hey, quasi-historical adventure!” I was wrong about that.
[3] Best known for illustrating fantasy novels.
posted by Alexander the Drake at 8:00 pm
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