The Pirate Queen
Diana Norman
Published in 1991 by Headline Book Publishing PLC.
A 'historical romance', it follows the life and the rather complex and wildly varying adventures of Barbary Clampett, an Irish child, first in castle tower prison in Ireland, and then growing up alone in Elizabethan London, then at Elizabeth's court, then back to Ireland to meet her grandmother, who is the pirate queen of the title, then back to Elizabeth's court, etc. etc. Set against the attempted colonisation of Ireland by England and the rebellions arising therefrom, there are a lot of historical characters and events that are woven into the novel, as also brief descriptions of presumably actual historical events, such as battles, massacres, famines and the like. Some of the descriptions of the murders and the massacres, by Englishmen, English armies, Irish rebels, Irish people, Irish clans, etc. have a strong resonance not only with some contemporary events (Rwanda, the 2002 Gujarat massacres...) but also with what I read in the 'The Last Mughal', esp. since the English are involved, again. However there is too much detail, and I had to skip through the book to sustain my interest. I think it is not meant for serious reading but is more like a Georgette Heyer novel or a Mills and Boon romance.
Diana Norman
Published in 1991 by Headline Book Publishing PLC.
A 'historical romance', it follows the life and the rather complex and wildly varying adventures of Barbary Clampett, an Irish child, first in castle tower prison in Ireland, and then growing up alone in Elizabethan London, then at Elizabeth's court, then back to Ireland to meet her grandmother, who is the pirate queen of the title, then back to Elizabeth's court, etc. etc. Set against the attempted colonisation of Ireland by England and the rebellions arising therefrom, there are a lot of historical characters and events that are woven into the novel, as also brief descriptions of presumably actual historical events, such as battles, massacres, famines and the like. Some of the descriptions of the murders and the massacres, by Englishmen, English armies, Irish rebels, Irish people, Irish clans, etc. have a strong resonance not only with some contemporary events (Rwanda, the 2002 Gujarat massacres...) but also with what I read in the 'The Last Mughal', esp. since the English are involved, again. However there is too much detail, and I had to skip through the book to sustain my interest. I think it is not meant for serious reading but is more like a Georgette Heyer novel or a Mills and Boon romance.
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