Many authors have published scholarly works on the British Empire and the fantastic eccentrics who ruled it. Where some of these works have entertained and informed others have been little more than unenlightening, interminable paeans to obsessively thorough research. This reconstruction of the reign of Elizabeth I of England, with a particular emphasis on the willful talents of her seafairing adventurers, sails a middle course.
Ms. Ronald, an author and historian, chronicles, here, the extent to which the rise of British naval power in the 16th century buoyed the reign of Elizabeth I and set down the cornerstones of empire for the centuries to come. After establishing 16th century Britain as something of a European backwater, especially relative to the overwhelming might of its rival Spain, she demonstrates how, in 40 years of clever maneuvering and innovative thinking, Elizabeth empowered ambitious Englishmen like Francis Drake, John Hawkins, William Winter and Walter Raleigh to venture out into the dangerous seas and bring back the treasures of empire. Unleashed to practice what amounted to government-sanctioned piracy, these men harried Spain by sinking its ships, stealing its gold and silver, and driving it to fury and distraction, all while helping Elizabeth to fund a defense of Protestant England against catholic Europe. So successful were their combined efforts that, by the end of Elizabeth's reign, Britain was fast becoming a dominant power that bore little resemblance to the hinterland kingdom she'd inherited from her elder sister.
Though Elizabeth's shrewdness is, here, on display, Ms. Ronald is clearly transfixed by the daring of the men Elizabeth tapped to build her an empire. Drake's wisdom and boldness, Hawkins' persistence, Winter's genius and Raleigh's arrogance are all convincingly captured by the author who generates thorough portraits of all four players in this mercantile drama. More over, Ms. Ronald contextualizes these portraits by describing the voyages these men undertook, the ships they used to execute them, the guns they used to defend them, and the plunder they took to make it all worthwhile.
But as much as The Pirate Queen succeeds as a biography of both these men and their time, it is sold as a reconstruction of Elizabeth I and her reign. In this, it surely fails. For the eponymous queen is scarcely present in these 500 pages. Sure, she looms over the piece, her policies discussed, her loves detailed, her cautiousness admired, but she is nothing more than a pale shadow next to Francis Drake who is so lavishly praised and extensively chronicled by Ms. Ronald that the reader could not be blamed for thinking him the main character in her tale.
This is quality work, but Ms. Ronald is not a polished writer of history. In delving into her subject, she lost focus on Elizabeth, her heroine, and allowed her fondness for Drake to transform the narrative. What's more, someone, pleas god, challenge her to go just one year without using the word parsimonious. Based on how frequently it is deployed here, I imagine this would cause the author immense discomfort. (3/5 Stars)
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