Seaborne
With the recent interest in novels with strong female leads, Nuala O’Connor throws her literary expertise into the mix with a fresh interpretation of Anne Bonny, a legendary young woman who grabbed life by the horns three hundred years ago. Pulling at the tentative threads of what is known about Anne, which isn’t much, O’Connor has altered some knowns to suit her narrative – James Bonny is renamed Gabriel here.
On the coast of Ireland, six-year-old Anne Coleman is already dreaming of open seas and endless skies. When her family relocates to a plantation in the Carolinas, house slave Bedelia becomes Anne’s best friend, confidante and lover. Anne’s marriage to Gabriel Bonny is a means to an end. With her father pressing a suitable marriage upon her, the three flee to Nassau, where Anne soon chafes at Bonny’s lordship over her, and Bedelia finds companionship elsewhere. Anne falls for Captain ‘Calico Jack’ Rackham, who offers the world to her. Most of what we know about her life comes from 1721 court transcripts, according to the author’s scrupulous research.
Nuala O’Connor has crafted a vibrant and tragic tale, tugging our imagination into a world where Anne truly blossoms. Using archaic dramatic dialogue and playing loosely with the few known facts, two aspects of Anne’s personality form the backbone around which the author crafts her narrative—her supposed bisexuality and propensity for cross-dressing; and her ruthless manipulation of others to achieve her own ends. Hence, the majority of the novel is about relationships and how they do or do not benefit Anne. In this context she’s a force to be reckoned with and isn’t particularly likeable, but is admirably loyal to Rackham and his crew, even as they fail her, and there are some poignant scenes. A great addition to the bookshelf of any reader interested in the Golden Age of Piracy.
