"I'm going to be a pirate, when I grow up. Are you?" Pippi Longstocking was apparently not the only girl inspired to travel the seas, strong and courageous and free. In her captivating combination of travelogue and history, Barbara Sjoholm tacks through the sordid history of the remarkable Grace O'Malley, while beautifully describing her personal journey to places she lived and sailed. Ireland, British Isles, north to Greenland, into the fijords of Norway, all the while in the weather, the legends, the beauty of the Viking seas. From the first chapter, I found this book kept my attention, alternately appealing to my head and heart. It's not just because Barbara Sjoholm's contributions to women's literature of the sea deserves a standing ovation that I so highly recommend this book. It's a hell of a read and her research is deep and real. Grace O'Malley was born in 1530. In her epilogue, Barbara tells of a return trip to Clew Bay, Ireland where Grace called homeport. They were putting up a statue, the first of which had been put up 400 years after Grace's death. This "imprudent woman" whose family motto was "Terra marique potens"- powerful by land and sea - is well worth knowing.
Click here to go to the website, see the maps, read an excerpt, write the author and say thanks.
"I'm going to be a pirate, when I grow up. Are you?" Pippi Longstocking was apparently not the only girl inspired to travel the seas, strong and courageous and free. In her captivating combination of travelogue and history, Barbara Sjoholm tacks through the sordid history of the remarkable Grace O'Malley, while beautifully describing her personal journey to places she lived and sailed. Ireland, British Isles, north to Greenland, into the fijords of Norway, all the while in the weather, the legends, the beauty of the Viking seas. From the first chapter, I found this book kept my attention, alternately appealing to my head and heart. It's not just because Barbara Sjoholm's contributions to women's literature of the sea deserves a standing ovation that I so highly recommend this book. It's a hell of a read and her research is deep and real. Grace O'Malley was born in 1530. In her epilogue, Barbara tells of a return trip to Clew Bay, Ireland where Grace called homeport. They were putting up a statue, the first of which had been put up 400 years after Grace's death. This "imprudent woman" whose family motto was "Terra marique potens"- powerful by land and sea - is well worth knowing. Click here to go to the website, see the maps, read an excerpt, write the author and say thanks.
Kaci Cronkhite
Post a Comment
View Printer Friendly Version
Reader Comments