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In 1946, Hollywood’s most famous swashbuckler, Errol Flynn, arrived in Jamaica in a storm-ravaged boat. After a long and celebrated career on the silver screen, Flynn spent the last years of his life on a small island off the Jamaican coast, where he fell in love with the people, the paradisiacal setting, and the privacy, and brought a touch of Tinseltown glamour to the West Indian community.
Based on those years, The Pirate’s Daughter imagines an affair between the aging matinee star and Ida, a beautiful local girl. Flynn’s affections are unpredictable but that doesn’t stop Ida from dreaming of a life with him, especially after the birth of their daughter, May.
Margaret Cezair-Thompson weaves stories of mothers and daughters, fathers and lovers, country and kin, into this compelling, dual-generational coming-of-age tale of two women struggling to find their way in a nation wrestling with its own independence.
“A book-club-ready saga with two gorgeous women at its center [and] a knockout ending that reveals treasure buried beneath the sand-encrusted secrets.”–People (Critic’s Choice)
“[Cezair-Thompson] explores questions about identity and racism without being heavy-handed about it. She's best at juxtaposing Flynn's imported glamour with the realities of Jamaica and at suggesting there's more than one kind of buried treasure…The Pirate's Daughter offers plenty of serious passion and escape .”—USA Today
“A surprising yarn that is rich, salty and ultimately satisfying . . . The Pirate’s Daughter sparkles with characters real and imagined.”–The Washington Post
"[A] launch pad from which the Jamaican-born writer, Margaret Cezair-Thompson, creates a wonderful confection in which Flynn becomes enmeshed in island life... the book helps to correct the view propagated by those, such as V S Naipaul, who claim that Caribbean islands have no history. Instead Cezair-Thompson presents an island almost crushed by the weight of its long and tortured past... the breathtaking pace and verve of The Pirate's Daughter make it a delight; a touch of summer reading in a grim winter." —The Independent
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