Margaret Cezair-Thompson, The Pirate's Daughter

The Pirate's Daughter

Margaret Cezair-Thompson

Unbridled, Oct 2007, $24.95

ISBN: 9781932961409

In 1946, Errol Flynn was sailing the Caribbean when a storm forced his boat to land on one of the smaller Jamaican islands. The former movie swashbuckling superstar enjoys his stop and begins throwing wild parties for his Hollywood guests with natives attending to provide extra activity.

The actor spends plenty time alone with young local girls like Ida. His tryst with Ida leads to her giving birth to May. Father and illegitimate daughter meet once, but that encounter accentuates May's feeling of not belonging; whereas her mother dreams of belonging to high society preferably in Southern California but Jamaica will do, May feels like an outsider who does not belong to the black or white societies.

This fascinating historical tale provides the audience with an interesting look at the impact of the Hollywood invasion on the lifestyles of Jamaicans just after WWII. Readers will appreciate the up close look at Jamaica while also feel a sense of sadness as former matinee idol Errol Flynn, who could have had almost any woman at one time, finds his last hurrah is with young girls while his daughter and her mother tragically fall in and out of love. Melancholy yet nostalgic, Margaret Cezair-Thompson's well written tale is a fresh mid twentieth century drama.

Harriet Klausner