The Pirate Queen: In Search of Grace O'Malley and Other Legendary Women of the Sea [Paperback]

Barbara Sjoholm (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1, 2004

The Pirate Queen begins in Ireland with the notorious Grace O’Malley, a scourge to the most powerful fleets of sixteenth-century Europe. This Irish clan chieftain and pirate queen was a contemporary of Elizabeth I, and a figure whose life is the stuff of myth. Regularly raiding English ships caught off Ireland’s west coast, O’Malley purportedly fought off fierce Algerian pirates just hours after giving birth to her son. She commanded two hundred men (and a couple of husbands), and acquired lands and castles that still dot the Irish coastline today. But O’Malley was not alone, especially in the waters of the North Atlantic where author Barbara Sjoholm traveled through coastal communities and seafaring ports to collect these little-known stories. Since ancient times, women have rowed and sailed, commanded and fished, built boats and owned fleets. Yet their incredible contributions have been nearly erased from the history books, as have the myths of seal women, Finn wives, and storm witches. In The Pirate Queen, Sjoholm brings some of these extraordinary stories back to life, taking the reader on an unforgettable journey in this meticulously researched, colorfully written, and truly original work. Illustrations and maps add to these intriguing swashbuckling tales

Editorial Reviews

Review

Appeals to a broad range of readers, particularly those who are interested in reclaiming the lost history of women's contributions. -- Foreword magazine

Barbara Sjoholm is a skilled and stylish writer . . . I fell for her, hook, line, and sinker from the first page. -- Bitch magazine

Sjoholm brings to life many remarkable stories of maritime women in this fascinating book. -- The Oregonian

Sjoholm's imagination is so fertile she takes on new personas during her journey. -- The Seattle Times

[Sjoholm's] description of land and seascapes are rhapsodie and vivid, and her evocation of people is uncanny. -- Bremerton Sun

Product Details

• Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: Seal Press (June 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 158005109X
• ISBN-13: 978-1580051095
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.9 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #379,506 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

47 of 51 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Sjoholm talks more about herself than her supposed subjects., April 3, 2005

By 

Monika "equestrienne_23" (Davis, California) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Pirate Queen: In Search of Grace O'Malley and Other Legendary Women of the Sea (Paperback)

This book really wasn't at all what I was expecting, or what the title would lead one to believe. The subtitle, "In Search of Grace O'Malley and Other Legendary Women of the Sea," makes it sound as if this will be a biographical account of the life of Grace O'Malley, with supplemental information on other historical female seafarers. Not so. The first two chapters are devoted to the famous pirate queen herself, and Sjoholm only provides the skimpiest bits of information. I knew almost nothing about Grace O'Malley going into the book, and I know little more than that now. The other women included are discussed in even sparer detail, and most of them aren't even real historical figures, but legendary story characters and mythological creatures like mermaids. She even talks about Pippi Longstocking! Not what I was expecting at all...

"The Pirate Queen" is actually devoted far more to Sjoholm's travels in search of information on female women of the sea than it is to the information itself. I learned more about Sjoholm and her own life than about the women she supposedly set out to study. She describes the inns she stayed at, the weather, the tourists she met, her own childhood, the abundance of "personal bath mats" in northern European hotels... almost everything but Grace O'Malley and her cohorts. In fact, the primary underlying theme in the book seems to be how the author came to the decision to change her last name from Wilson to Sjoholm; a story which, to be quite honest, I really couldn't care less about. I bought the book hoping to learn about interesting historical figures. It turned out to be a travel memoir, and a comparatively uninteresting one at that.

This is a shame, really. Sjoholm includes just enough information on the various historical women she mentions - Grace O'Malley herself, Bessie Millie, Janet Forsyth, Christian Robertson, Eliza Fraser, Isobel Gunn, Betty Mouat, Freydis Eiriksdottir, Skipper Thuridur, Trouser-Beret, Alfhild, the "herring lassies," and numerous mythological characters - to whet my appetite, but then fails to deliver a full, satisfying portrait of any of them. She raises more questions than she answers, and I'd need to buy numerous additional books to find all the missing information. You may also notice, given the names, that nearly all the women mentioned are northern European in origin. Sjoholm entirely omits women seafarers active in other parts of the world, such as the famous pirates Anne Bonney and Mary Read who, though from Europe, sailed the Caribbean.

As for Sjoholm's writing style, the book is an easy read, but not a very enjoyable one. Sjoholm's writing is given to an abundance of nearly nauseating metaphors. For example: "The lava fields looked like vanilla cake batter poured over thick jumbles of dates, walnuts, and chocolate chips. In the sun the moss could also look like lemon yogurt spooned generously over granola" (pg. 222). Flowery, gratuitous, and often ridiculous images like this are to be found in almost every paragraph... peppered throughout the book like poppyseeds in a muffin, you might say... It's not the worst book I've ever read, but I do wish I'd spent my money on something else. It doesn't deliver what it promises, and there are plenty of more interesting and informative books out there to pick up instead.

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars How I Spent My Summer Vacation, Looking for Pirate Women..., April 4, 2006

By 

Raveness (Detroit, Michigan USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Pirate Queen: In Search of Grace O'Malley and Other Legendary Women of the Sea (Paperback)

That should have been the title of the book. I was really disappointed. There was very little about Grace O'Mally, and more about what she did on her vacation.
I really didn't care why she changed her name or where she stayed or that she got sick and couldn't go row-boating. I just wanted to know about women's roles at sea, which she did cover a bit, but she could have done in a 100 page paperback instead.

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Totally Misleading, June 14, 2006

By 

Shannon Keys "ladypyrate" (Easley, SC United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Pirate Queen: In Search of Grace O'Malley and Other Legendary Women of the Sea (Paperback)

I am more than a little interested in historical accounts of piracy, especially those dealing Grace O'Malley, and other female mariners. I selected this book hoping for more stories of the same, and was instead bored to tears by the author's accounts of her trip, the countryside, the places she stayed.. On and On. I got no new information about Grace or anyone else. It seemed like the author did not find enough information about these "legendary women" and needed to pad the book with her adventures. I personally would reccomend "She Captians" or Anne Chambers biography of Grace O'Malley over this book.