The Pirate Lord by Sabrina Jeffries (1998)

I will be switching gears for my second review to a book that I quite enjoyed – not just as a pirate romance novel, but as a book in general. The first unexpected thing about this book was the dedication: “To Emily Toth, my favorite feminist, and to my parents, who taught me to stand up for my rights”

That’s different!

THE PLOT 

Sara Willis is a reformer. Her do-gooder antics are a thorn in the side of her stepbrother, Jordan, the Earl of Blackmore. So Jordan is especially displeased when Sara announces that she is going to accompany a ship of convict women to New South Wales. Their ship is captured by The Satyr, captained by pirate captain Gideon Horn. Gideon and his crew are looking to retire from piracy and build a community on a paradise island, Atlantis. They figure they need women to do it, and that a ship of prisoner women will be happy to be given freedom in exchange for helping out. Sara doesn’t take too kindly to Gideon’s presumptuousness, and resists – telling him that her brother is the Earl of Blackmore. Well, Gideon has a grudge against nobles so he kidnaps her, too. Once aboard The Satyr, Sara negotiates a deal with Gideon – give the women two weeks to decide who of the crew they want to marry. If they do not make a choice on their own in the two weeks it takes to reach Atlantis, they will have husbands chosen for them. In their heated back-and-forths, of course, Sara and Gideon become taken with each other – much to the consternation of both.

When they arrive on the island, the women must admit that Atlantis is indeed a paradise, and they begin to help build it into a home. But just when Sara and Gideon fall in love, Sara’s brother arrives on the island to rescue her. She does not want to be rescued, but agrees to go back to England with him as long as he promises not to let the fleet waiting off the coast attack Gideon and his men. Back in England, Sara is miserable. She also discovers that Gideon’s much-maligned mother is alive and well and had not abandoned him, but he had been kidnapped by some jealous lover who pretended to be his father and told him all sorts of lies about her. 

Once he realizes that Sara did not leave him, but was taken by her brother, her sets out to find her. Before he can get very far, however, he runs into the Earl of Blackmore, who is returning Sara – and his parents – to him.

MY TAKE

I really, really enjoyed this book. It the closest thing to a feminist-friendly pirate romance novel I have ever come across. Each chapter begins with a relevant quotation from a historical feminist figure. And it’s not just lip-service. The book is structured around pirate romance novel formulae, but it is much more fleshed out. There are a number of side stories focusing on the lives of, and budding romances between, the prisoner women and Gideon’s crew. The writing is good, and the style and storytelling are engaging.

THE HERO

Gideon is a hero I could swoon over. He starts off well-intentioned, but arrogant. Through his interactions with Sara, he learns and grows. Sure, his original plan is dumb, but he pretty quickly realizes that. He is respectful of the women throughout. All pirate romance novel pirate captains have some sort of (alleged) heart of gold, but Jeffries actually shows how much he cares about his men and his dedication to building a home on Atlantis. He has mommy issues, as all pirate romance novel pirate captains do, but it doesn’t manifest as misogyny.

THE HEROINE

Sara is great. She’s smart. She comes off as kind of a righteous harpy, which is unusual for a pirate romance novel heroine, but not in such a way that makes her unlikeable. She has a depth of character which is rare in this genre. Take this scene, when Gideon first captures the prisoner transport ship:

“’Good day, ladies,’ he said with a distinctly American accent when all the women were above decks and the hatches closed. With a grin that took some of the edge off his fierce looks, he surveyed the crowd and added, ‘We’ve come to rescue you.’

His words were so unexpected, so completely self-assured, that Sara bristled. After all his blatant methods of intimidation, after he’d stood here surveying the women like cattle before the slaughter, he had the audacity to say such a thing!” – page 51

Sara has values! Finding a man isn’t her main priority! Did I mention that she masturbates? Way to go, Sara! Way to go Sabrina Jeffries!

THE SEX

The relationship between Sara and the Horn-dawg (my nickname for him, not Jeffries’) develops, in a structural sense, the way most of these relationships do – witty barbs and antagonism mix with sexual tension to turn into something steamy. But Jeffries takes the time to actually develop the relationship. There is a spark of attraction between the two from very early on, so it’s not a sudden seduction. In fact, there’s no seduction at all. They build a respect for each other from their interactions, and begin to like each other, and fall in love. Sara does feel some shame, but it’s not shame about having sex, but shame about liking it, which I suppose can be written off to the time period. The sex scenes are well written. Sometimes they are sweet and sometimes hot. This is when he “break[s her]maidenhead”:

“’Do you trust me not to hurt you more than necessary?’

Every muscle in his face seemed taut from the effort of entering her slowly, and his eyes glittered with need. Yet he held off, waiting for her answer. That reassured her as nothing else could have. He might be a pirate, but he would not deliberately harm her.

…

It was only a quick little burst of pain, but enough to make her cry out. He caught her cry with his mouth, kissing her until she relaxed. Then he began to move, sliding into her with long, slow strokes. At first it felt tight and unfamiliar. Then the slick friction of him inside her began to warm her, to rouse intriguing new sensations inside her. She felt herself open and loosen for him, like a sail unfurling to accept the mighty thrust of the wind against it, inside it.” – p.246

Sure, the obligatory nautical metaphor is cheesy, but the trust and care is such a refreshing change from the flat-out rape in books like A Pirate’s Love.

THE PIRACY

The crew is representative of a number of different nationalities, which is true to historical pirate crews. Also, while Gideon does make a number of decisions for the crew, he is open to negotiation and discussion, which is emblematic of how democratic pirate crews were.

MY RATING

Feminism: 4/5 stars

Supporting cast: 5/5 stars

Long-lost mother ex machina: 5/5 stars

Overall: 5/5 stars