Customer Reviews

The Pirate Queen: The Story of Grace O'Malley, Irish Pirate

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Grace O'Malley led a long and adventurous life. Not always an easy one but one with never a dull moment. From the moment of her first marriage she would not be tamed into a life of a subservient wife. She had a mind of her own and wouldn't let any man, let alone Queen Elizabeth I of England, subdue her.

In Grace's career as a pirate she nearly bankrupted the English treasury, had a few husbands and lovers with very diverse backgrounds and heritages, made herself a fortune and was mother to four children. She also had a unique but amicable relationship with Queen Elizabeth I after much discussion between them concerning their lives and whatever else came to their minds.

This is an exciting, swashbuckling tale about a little known historical Irish persona in the 16th century. Her life is the stuff legends are made of and I only wish there were as many historical fictions novel about Grace O'Malley as there are about Elizabeth I, Queen of England. There are two historical fiction novels by Morgan Llywelyn concerning Grace O'Malley, I've read both and they are very excellent reads as well as this one.

I became a fan after I read 'Warrior Queen' and had to go out and get this one. This book isn't as bloody and brutal as 'Warrior Queen' but it's still good. Having to tell the story of a great woman like this in only 356 pages is tough and there were some areas where I felt the author was jumping around to cover everything.

I wasn't as enthralled with the Queen of England part(s)of this book either, but since her and Grace were friends there probably wasn't anyway around it. This book will make you spend time online finding out more about Grace and her life, I know I will. I do like Mr. Gold's work because he does tell a good story and doesn't hold back on the brutality when the story calls for it. This book is definately worth your time.

I struggled to finish this book contrary to my obsession with this time period and love of strong female figures in history. It was poorly written, I thought at first I had maybe strolled into the young adult section in the book store. It was more of a bad romance novel than a historical fiction.

I read this book over the summer in the course of researching Grace O'Malley and was rolling my eyes the whole time. Why take a fascinating historical figure and turn her life story into a boring romance novel? I don't understand.

I was also unable to finish the book despite my usual fascination with anything related to Queen Elizabeth or female pirates. Bleaugh.

This book is nothing more than a romance novel with some historical names & dates. I was hoping for a more thoughtful historical novel about Grace O'Malley's life but was disappointed to read what lay before me. I'll try another book for a more accurate & true picture of the life of Grace O'Malley.

Ever since I was a child, I have loved the prospect of pirates and buried treasure. This book highly disappointed me in that respect. I have grown and learned that this is not what pirating was. And even in my current knowledge of pirates, I was very disappointed in this book.
I do not know much about the historical figure, Grace O'Malley. But I do know a lot about Queen Elizabeth I. The novel went back and forth between these two women's stories and how they related to one another. Elizabeth I was portrayed badly from the many other pieces on her I have read.
The writing style was dull. I am going to admit, I committed the rare crime of putting down a book before finished. I did get close to the end but decided that I needed to read something else. The story does not flow well and it seems to jump around from event to event. Random things seems to happen without any buildup or foreshadowing.
The story was good, that is the credit I will give it. If it was written better, possibley researched more, and organized differently it would be a lot more of a commendable novel. However, this is the type of novel I would fall asleep to while reading it.
It's a fun read, rather easy going if you're not picky about the types of books you read. But in general, I personally would not recommend it.

This is an intelligent, interesting novel which, because so little documentation exists on the life of Grace O'Malley, varies between historical fiction and pure creation. None-the-less it is a delightful read.
These are not the brutal blood-soaked pages so frequently found in pirate stories. Instead, the author emphasizes wit, intelligence and strategy as the major weapons in the arsenal of her piratical life.
Even though Grace was an enemy of England and caused loss of both money and prestige, when her son was taken by the English Governor of Ireland, she wrote to Queen Elizabeth, pleading for his release. Subsequently, when he was not released, she presented herself, unannounced, to the Queen at Greenwich Palace and surprisingly was afforded an audience. Although the meeting did take place, there are no records of what transpired. Mr. Gold does an excellent job of narrating this meeting, which ended amicably and to the best interests of both parties
I found a couple grammatical oversights, e.g. on page 131: "this was a private matter, for he and the Queen alone." But who cares?
I liked it a lot. The pace is fast, the author witty, making this a real page-turner

I thought this book was very worth my money. The story is well written and believeable. Being that this is historical fiction, both characters, in my opinion, were portrayed accuratly, especially Queen Elizabeth I. The book is entertaining and realistic, there was no over-played romance or drama. I've actually read this book twice and loaned it to a friend, and so far she thinks it's great! I'm hoping for more of Alan Gold!