Interesting reading, although information regarding this interesting historical figure appears to be difficult to find. ( )

A well compiled, (roughly) chronological telling of the life of the Irish 'queen of the pirates' Gráinne Mhaol. Expertly researched and drawing from a library of reference material, the book is encyclopaedic and historical, and rarely encounters Chambers' personality. One interesting aspect where it does is in Chambers' statements on the role of women in leadership historically, which ties in well with the historical narrative of Mhaol's life. Good reference material. ( )

This book was so poorly laid out I’m not sure what the heck happened in Granuaile’s life. She had kids, was a pirate, and met Elizabeth I (and hoodwinked her too). That’s what I got out of it. ( )

Review: Ireland’s Pirate Queen by Anne Chambers. 11/22/2017

This was a non-fiction book written about Ireland’s history that wasn’t mentioned much because it was about the first woman pirate, Grace O’Malley back in the era when women were put on the back burner. There is not much information on Grace O’Malley and she was not respected even among Irish historians. It was interesting to read a subject of a strong female leader in a time when men were unwilling to admit women could lead. I enjoyed reading about the battle of the sexes with men and even some other women became jealous of the Queen pirate’s adventures and conquests.

I give Anne Chambers credit for having the courage to tell a story that many historians would not touch. I found out things I never knew about the Irish that captured my interest and was thought provoking. This book concentrates on the time span when Grace was alive in the late1500’s and very early 1600’s. Anne Chambers writes that for centuries the Island was governed by a primitive system of lords who apparently did a lot of battling amongst themselves. I was inspired by the author’s descriptions of the feuding contention and found it really fascinating.

Anne Chambers did a great job of using what real documentation exists and combining what is known about the lives of women in that era. Chambers definitely did her research finding reference to Grace O’Malley that still exists today. There are translations at the end of the book of epic poems and songs written about Grace O’Malley as well as documents she actually wrote Queen Elizabeth and which are kept in the royal archives. ( )

The book was a bit disorganized. Reflects different grammar rules than what I usually see, not sure if that reflects mistakes or that Ireland uses different rules....

While this was about a pirate queen I have no idea if her galleys had cannon. How much if at all they used muskets and several other thing that could easily been included.

Overall this book felt more like a recitation of facts than relating the life story of an exciting individual. ( )