Island Queen

Dorothy Kirwan Thomas, the real-life inspiration for this novel, is a woman of color who escaped from slavery and became one of the wealthiest entrepreneurs in the Caribbean during the colonial era. Riley brings Dorothy’s story to life, covering childhood to long after she’s established herself as a powerful landowner, in a way that doesn’t feel rushed or bogged by details.

Vanessa Riley normally writes romance novels and she’s brought that same level of readability to this book. The chapters were short and quick to get through which set a quick pace through a very long novel. I did start to lose steam towards the end so I could have done with 100 less pages, but Dorothy's life is full of events. I would have liked to see a show more little more of the day-to-day running of her business and how she trained the girls she employed, but (as I mentioned) it's already a long book and Riley chose to focus on Dorothy's family and relationships.

I had two small critiques that have to do with the historical setting. The first I noticed because a review of another historical novel mentioned it. The phrase “my truth” is a term that’s been popping up during the last few years and it does not have a place earlier than the 21st century. Every time that phrase comes up it pulls me out of the setting. There’s a lot of modern feminist ideas being explored, but given that Dorothy’s character is ahead of her time it never feels out of place, but I could do without the specifically modern feminist language. The second thing is nitpicky, but the term corset is used often and they didn't have corsets in the 18th century, they had stays. Some points I think the author means stays and others I think she means bodice since the character plays with her “corset strings” when she’s fully dressed. Yes, I have been watching historical costumers on youtube, how did you know?

Aside from those things I was delighted to finally get a historical novel set someplace other than Western Europe during the World Wars. There are so many places in history that would be interesting to explore and I’m glad Riley is introducing the world to Dorothy, whose story is so radical that if it was only a story one would call in unbelievable. But life is stranger than fiction and Dorothy’s life shows how true that is.

*Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me a copy in exchange for an honest review. show less

Prior to reading Island Queen, I was already a Vanessa Riley fan. To say I love historical fiction would be an understatement. I have read other books by her, and think this is her best work yet! Not only was I riveted, (I’m talking stuck in the book and burn your dinner riveted), but I also learned about Dorothy Kirwan Thomas, “Dolly or Doll” to those who knew her.
This book is based on Ms. Thomas, a very courageous and strong black woman, who grew up in slavery. She not only bought her freedom, but her family’s as well. Then went on to not only build an empire, she provided a better life for her family.

Although I felt the book was a good read, I wish that Ms. Riley had given us a bit more focus on her familial and business show more relationships, rather than those of the failed love interests. However, I was still enthralled with the book, which takes place in the 18th century colonial Caribbean, and especially loved learning about Ms. Thomas, who was from the West Indies, as is my family. I’d never heard about her prior to reading this, so I’m glad that I learned something new.

I would recommend this to anyone who loves historical fiction, loves to read, and loves to learn. I’d have to say, well done, Ms. Riley, well done. show less

Sweeping family saga that covers sixty years in the life of Dorothy Kirwan Thomas (aka Miss Doll or Dolly). Born in 1756, she is a no-nonsense strong woman who works her way up from slavery to business owner. She starts a housekeeping business on several Caribbean islands. Her home base is Roseau, Dominica. We meet her various men, many of whom desert her after she bears them one or more children. She is fiercely loyal to her family.

Dorothy Kirwan Thomas was a real person, and Vanessa Riley has done a wonderful job of bringing her to life as a complex personality with many strengths and weaknesses. She overcomes a variety of obstacles such as illiteracy, racial issues, postpartum depression, sexual abuse, and patriarchal laws. It feels show more a bit lengthy (600 pages), especially toward the end. This book would make a fabulous mini-series. show less

Fine. Dolly is resourceful and smart as a whip. The majority of this is her being a businesswoman and the various white mens infatuated with her (varying in power imbalances from much to little to none). Wealth becomes a security blanket for Dolly, helping keep the nightmares, the past, the racism, and the feelings of inadequacy at bay.

Don’t be put off by the length. Each chapter is bite-sized.

I was very impressed by what the author was able to infer from historical documents. The narrative voice for Dolly was also good. I had never heard of Dorothy Kirwan Thomas before this. But I wanted more about how Dolly started training her workers than all the dalliances with mens.

Cells was just raggedy to me, and he never really stopped. i show more think he liked the push and pull. show less

My initial thought upon finishing this book is that someone should really make a movie about the life of Dorothy Kirwan Thomas, the central character of this novel. My second thought was curiosity about why more historical figures like this woman aren't featured more frequently in historical fiction. The author's note at the conclusion offers some ideas on this thought and I appreciated the author's research and how she clearly worked with the available information to create a believable portrayal of Dorothy Thomas's life. If this book has a flaw, it's the length combined with the number of children and grandchildren Dorothy has (I couldn't keep them all straight by the end). I almost wonder if Dorothy's story could have been a trilogy show more of novels instead of just one. Still, I would highly recommend this book for historical fiction fans and I hope to see more novels like this published. show less

audiobook (21 hours) - adult fiction based loosely on the life of a real person

I am slogging through the audio a little (it's quite long, and I'm aware that there are other people still on the waitlist for it) but overall I find Dorothy Thomas' story fascinating and well worth the time. Even if only the most basic details about her life are true--enslaved woman flees the rapist son of the plantation owner (who is her father), has many kids by multiple men, and builds an impressive business empire for herself through which she is able to pay her manumission fees and those of her mother, sisters, grandmother, and children--this is someone that you would want to sit down with and hear their story.
The audio narration (in a Caribbean accent) show more is also excellent, and I never mind re-listening to parts of the story that I've managed to miss (due to my multitasking, not any fault of the author's). show less

Sweeping family saga that covers sixty years in the life of Dorothy Kirwan Thomas (aka Miss Doll or Dolly). Born in 1756, she is a no-nonsense strong woman who works her way up from slavery to business owner. She starts a housekeeping business on several Caribbean islands. Her home base is Roseau, Dominica. We meet her various men, many of whom desert her after she bears them one or more children. She is fiercely loyal to her family.

Dorothy Kirwan Thomas was a real person, and Vanessa Riley has done a wonderful job of bringing her to life as a complex personality with many strengths and weaknesses. She overcomes a variety of obstacles such as illiteracy, racial issues, postpartum depression, sexual abuse, and patriarchal laws. It feels show more a bit lengthy (600 pages), especially toward the end. This book would make a fabulous mini-series. show less