The Pirate Queen cover art

The Pirate Queen

 Preview

Get 30 days of Standard free

£5.99/mo after trial. Cancel monthly.
Try for £0.00
More purchase options

The Pirate Queen

By: Ariel Lawhon
Narrated by: Ariel Lawhon, Tara Flynn
Try for £0.00

£5.99 a month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy Now for £17.94

Buy Now for £17.94

Grace O'Malley was born to be at sea. Raised alongside her brother by their father, chief of the name of clan O'Malley, Grace learns early that her dreams of the open water are not compatible with the life she's expected to lead as the daughter of a noble family. And when her father marries her to the wrong man, a neighbouring chief named Donhal, Grace's world shifts for the worse.

Undaunted, Grace raises a family without abandoning her passion, aiding her hot-tempered husband in his campaigns against rival tribes. Eventually ousted from her husband's land in the wake of his death, Grace returns to her childhood home and begins her career as a pirate in earnest, claiming new territories and finding deeper love, only to see her livelihood threatened by English incursions into Ireland, and her family endangered in an attempt to check her power.

Tenderly observed and fiercely written, Ariel Lawhon's gripping latest novel channels the natural beauty of sixteenth-century Ireland alongside the brutality of the period as seen through the eyes of an unforgettable heroine and defender of her people, who truly earned the title 'the Pirate Queen of Ireland.'

A thrilling historical adventure inspired by the life of Grace O'Malley, an infamous Irish sea captain and folk heroine who risked everything to protect her people against the powerful Elizabethan regime©2026 Ariel Lawhon Historical Fiction Marriage Royalty Pirate
adbl_web_anon_alc_button_suppression_t1
All stars
Most relevant
I have rounded this up to 4 star as it is a very well cleverly written, well researched, full of detail albeit a bit heavy going for me.
The narration was very good, at a good speed and fitted the story well. The story was great. No peaks or troughs. Just something constantly happening. I actually feel exhausted now l've finished it. I do wish I had read this in date order as I'd seen recommended but I felt I was cheating the way the author wanted it to be listened to. Each chapter started at a different point of her life just when I was becoming invested in that time line it would switch to another and I spent half my time thinking back to match up what I already knew from the history of each.
That being said, I thought it was very cleverly put together.
As I listened on audio, my bad but I can get distracted and then I'd hear a new name or a duplicate name (there was multiple Richard's for example) and had to back track to see who she was talking about.

Maybe listen in date order?

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
This is such a fantastic book, we all know about Grace but you have brought her to life Ariel , thank you 🥰
And a special thank you to both Ariel and Tara for getting the Irish pronunciation spot on… it means the world

The Best!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.