The Pirate Queen

The Pirate Queen
Author: Alan Gold
Series: ---
Publisher: Penguin Group
How Received: library
Summary from Barnes & Noble's website.

Grace O'Malley commanded a dozen ships and the obedience of thousands of men. Her empire stretched from Connaught on the Irish coast to the cobalt aters of Africa. Through the daring of her piracy, Grace nearly bankrupted the English treasury-and her outright defiance brought embarrassment to Elizabeth I. Yet the lives of these two amazing women were inextricably intertwined-and their eventual meeting during the most brilliant and romantic era that Europe has ever known would shock the world.

I adore the story of Grace O'Malley, Pirate Queen. I always have. She's a fantastic historical figure-
-and I thought Alan Gold captured her perfectly.

This is one of those books I couldn't put down; it was fun to read, well written, and he managed to capture Grace's personality so wonderfully. I loved reading about all of Grace's many escapades, her trials and tribulations...

Really, it's a character driven story - if you don't like Grace, you're not going to keep reading. After all, the story is all about her.

[SPOILER ALERT] And I can't think of anybody who wouldn't like Grace. (Besides her husband, I mean.) I mean, even her and the Queen of England got along! [/SPOILER ALERT]

Overall Rating & Final Comments: 10/10. Need to buy. Love.
Do I prefer the musical The Pirate Queen or the book?: The musical The Pirate Queen is based off of the book Grania by Morgan Llywelyn - which is in my to be read pile. And while I adore Alan Gold's version, because he DOES capture Grania perfectly, I love the idea of her having a soulmate in Tiernan. Both are excellent, excellent, excellent.

Happy reading!

~ Nicole