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Title details for Island Queen by Vanessa Riley - Available

Island Queen

A Novel

by Vanessa Riley
Adjoa Andoh
Audiobook (Includes supplementary content)
1 of 1 copy available
Borrow Listen to a sample Listen to a sample
1 of 1 copy available

"Richly detailed, vividly depicted, and sweeping in scope, Island Queen is historical fiction at its absolute finest. A stunning must-read!"—Chanel Cleeton, New York Times bestselling author of The Most Beautiful Girl in Cuba

A remarkable, sweeping historical novel based on the incredible true life story of Dorothy Kirwan Thomas, a free woman of color who rose from slavery to become one of the wealthiest and most powerful landowners in the colonial West Indies.
Born into slavery on the tiny Caribbean island of Montserrat, Doll bought her freedom—and that of her sister and her mother—from her Irish planter father and built a legacy of wealth and power as an entrepreneur, merchant, hotelier, and planter that extended from the marketplaces and sugar plantations of Dominica and Barbados to a glittering luxury hotel in Demerara on the South American continent.

Vanessa Riley's novel brings Doll to vivid life as she rises above the harsh realities of slavery and colonialism by working the system and leveraging the competing attentions of the men in her life: a restless shipping merchant, Joseph Thomas; a wealthy planter hiding a secret, John Coseveldt Cells; and a roguish naval captain who will later become King William IV of England.

From the bustling port cities of the West Indies to the forbidding drawing rooms of London's elite, Island Queen is a sweeping epic of an adventurer and a survivor who answered to no one but herself as she rose to power and autonomy against all odds, defying rigid eighteenth-century morality and the oppression of women as well as people of color. It is an unforgettable portrait of a true larger-than-life woman who made her mark on history.


Supplemental enhancement PDF accompanies the audiobook.

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    July 6, 2021

  • Formats

    • OverDrive Listen audiobook

      • ISBN: 9780063002876
      • File size: 612938 KB
      • Duration: 21:16:57

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • Publisher's Weekly

      May 17, 2021
      Riley (An Earl, the Girl, and a Toddler) delivers a spirited narrative of an enslaved woman turned Caribbean power broker, based on a historical figure. Born in 1756 on Montserrat, Dorothy Kirwan Thomas is the mixed-race daughter of an Irish plantation owner and a Black enslaved woman. At 13, she runs away from her rapist half brother, leaving their one-year-old daughter behind with her mother and ending up in Demerara. She begins accumulating wealth by hiring out housekeepers to the colony’s newcomers, and eventually buys freedom for herself and her family. She parlays her savvy entrepreneurial skills into adding a hotel and sugar cane plantation to her substantial assets, expanding her empire to Dominica, Grenada, and Barbados. Her love affairs—with a local planter, shipper Joseph Thomas (they eventually marry), and England’s Prince William—expand her family to 10 children. When the British Empire imposes a tax on the West Indies, which Demerara’s corrupt governor places only on wealthy, free women of color, Dorothy persuades Lord Bathurst to rescind it. While the narrative is overly long and often stalls out in repetition, Riley has made a fascinating character out of Dorothy. Readers will enjoy Riley’s depiction of Dorothy’s unconventional life. Agent: Sara Younger, Nancy Yost Literary Agency.

    • AudioFile Magazine
      Narrator Adjoa Andoh's versatile voice is the perfect match for this novel based on the life of Caribbean tycoon Dorothy "Doll" Kirwan Thomas. Born into slavery on Montserrat in the mid-1700s, Doll is determined to purchase freedom for herself and her family. Andoh's portrayals of Doll's parents, lovers, children, and racist antagonists provide a diverse sensory experience for the listener, who feels the agony of enslavement in one chapter and tastes tamarind and tea in the next. Pursued by powerful men like the future King William IV, Doll ultimately rejects being a concubine, knowing that true power comes from freedom and fortune. She achieves both by building a mercantile/hotel empire throughout the islands. Andoh's strong interpretation of this tenacious woman is the jewel in the crown for the listener. E.S.B. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2021, Portland, Maine
    • Booklist

      July 1, 2021
      Riley brings multicultural communities and strong women to life in her superb historical romance novels, such as An Earl, the Girl, and a Toddler (2021). In this compelling work of historical fiction she chose an inspiring, true-life muse, Dorothy Kirwan Thomas. Born into slavery on the Caribbean island of Montserrat, Dorothy bought freedom for herself, her sister, her mother, and her children and then established herself as a successful merchant, hotelier, and planter, creating a legacy of wealth for her family. In this dazzling fictionalized version of Dorothy's life, Riley combines in-depth research with passionate and frank storytelling to explore Dorothy's fierce protection of her family, her tenacity, and the complex tales of the men in her life, who often failed to be worthy of her affection. The experiences and achievements of powerful women, especially those whose lives began among the enslaved, are too often overlooked, and Riley's richly engaging novel is a ringing reminder of how much we miss when these stories remain untold.

      COPYRIGHT(2021) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Formats

  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

subjects

Languages

  • English

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