Island Queen - by Vanessa Riley (Paperback)

About the Book

Book Synopsis

"Riveting and transformative...evocative and immersive...by turns vibrant and bold and wise...discovering Dorothy's story is a singular pleasure."--New York Times (Editors' Choice)

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.

Review Quotes

"There's a beautiful intimacy in Dorothy's first-person narration both in substance and expression...Though the story is epic in sweep, its genius lies in its revelation of Dolly's heroism and her flaws within that subjective voice...Riley does a brilliant job." - New York Times Book Review (Editors' Choice)

"Dazzling...compelling...Riley combines in-depth research with passionate and frank storytelling, 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." - Booklist

"This book is not only a one-sitting read, it's a slice of history that needs to be told. Utterly brilliant, powerful, and inspiring." - Kristan Higgins, New York Times bestselling author of Always the Last to Know

"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

"Island Queen is the magnificently reconstructed life story of Dorothy 'Doll' Kirwan Thomas, whose fascinating legacy of grit and success desperately deserves to be better known. With lush prose and raw emotion, Riley vividly captures the complexity of bringing to life a time of rebellion and possibility." - New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Stephanie Dray

"Riveting and transformative, evocative and immersive...by turns vibrant and bold and wise, discovering Dorothy's story is a singular pleasure." - New York Times Book Review (Editors' Choice)

"Island Queen is what you would get if you were to drop Olivia Pope and all the men who lusted after her into the 18th Century Caribbean. . . With prose that reads like poetry, Vanessa Riley expertly steers the reader through Dolly's heartbreaking lows all the way into her triumphant emergence as the richest free woman of color in the islands. Passionate, headstrong, and loyal, Riley's version of the real-life Dorothy Kirwan Thomas legend will make readers fall in love with this overlooked 'hidden' queen." - Kaia Alderson, author of Sisters in Arms

"Reading Island Queen and I am riveted. RIVETED, I tell you! Whew! That woman can WRITE! What a book!" - Kristan Higgins, from Twitter

"Riley...delivers a spirited narrative of an enslaved woman turned Caribbean power broker, based on a historical figure...Riley has made a fascinating character out of Dorothy." - Publishers Weekly