The Ballad of Jacquotte Delahaye
An epic historical novel of love, revenge and piracy on the high seas
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- £3.99
Publisher Description
'Packed full of action, excitement, peril and romance on the high seas, this is the sapphic pirate book of my dreams' SARAH UNDERWOOD, author of Lies We Sing to the Sea
'Thrilling, heart-pounding adventure meets thoughtful feminist history . . . a rare and special tale' VAISHNAVI PATEL, author of Kaikeyi
'I flew through the pages as if my ability to breath depended on it . . . This book has stolen my heart!' THE DEBUT DIGEST
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1656, Saint-Domingue. In the dark confines of a cell, a prisoner is waiting. Soon the hangman will call her name. Jacquotte Delahaye. A name which has struck fear into even the mightiest of empires. For Jacquotte is no ordinary prisoner: she is a pirate.
Fierce. Legendary. Deadly.
As the hangman prepares the noose, Jacquotte's story is told, charting her humble origins from the island of Hispaniola to the deck of a fearsome pirate ship. There, against all odds, she swiftly rises through the ranks, travelling across the Caribbean, facing duels across land and sea, and savouring tender moments stolen in the night.
With the sun rising, can Jacquotte fight her way to freedom and find the woman she loves? Or will she die a legend?
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Following one of the first purported female pirates to sail the Caribbean in the seventeenth century, this is a sweeping tale of adventure and buccaneering - and the forbidden love story that will shape the course of history. The perfect read for fans of The Ghost Ship by Kate Mosse and The Confessions of Frannie Langton by Sara Collins.
'A high-stakes, gripping adventure full of heart-pounding duels and bonds that run deeper than blood . . .will stay with readers long after the final page' LILLIE LAINOFF, author of One for All
'Unforgettable female characters, breathless adventure and passion a-plenty' JULIE WALKER, author of Bonny & Read
'Empowering. Uplifting. Illuminating. A tour de force of storytelling!' MENNA VAN PRAAG, author of The Sisters Grimm
'Gritty, exciting, and tender' KATHERINE BEUTNER, author of Killingly
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Cameron debuts with an exciting and multidimensional story inspired by the women pirates who sailed the Caribbean in the 17th century. Jacquotte Delahaye, who is of Haitian and French descent, defies societal gender norms by learning to become a skilled shipwright in Yaquimo, Santo Domingo. Her occupation nurtures her soul as she copes with an alcoholic father, who has been thrown out of the French aristocracy, and cares for her disabled younger brother, who has trouble sleeping through the night. After her nefarious childhood friend Florian kills her father and the island's governor during a coup, Jacquotte flees with a group of refugees including a young woman named Teresa. They set sail on the Dorado, the ship Jacquotte had been working on, but are captured at sea by the loathsome Captain Blackhand, who makes them indentured servants aboard his pirate ship The Marauder. Though Jacquotte didn't choose the life of a pirate, she embraces it as a path toward regaining her freedom. Cameron further disrupts the typically male domain of pirate stories by portraying Jacquotte's love for Teresa, who turns out to be the governor's widow. There are many thrilling fight scenes, especially after Blackhand hatches a plan to steal a shipment of precious jewels, but the heart of the novel lies with Jacquotte, whose honor, passion, and tenacity leap off the page. This fiery feminist adventure shows what legends are made of.
