What Would Graínne (Grace O’Malley) do Today?:
My novel Buccaneer
Beauty is the story of Graínne O’Malley, a real female pirate living in
1500’s Ireland. Graínne lived life
on her own terms, manipulating fortune so that she and her clan prospered in
the midst of a time of turmoil, bloodshed, and change. The daughter of a chieftain, Graínne
would not have had to take to the sea. She was a chieftain’s daughter, and her
future as an aristocratic woman and a chieftain’s wife was guaranteed. Unlike other female pirates, such as
Mary Read, Graínne had no financial need to engage in so dangerous a
profession, but she chose to follow in her father’s footsteps, supporting two
of her husbands in their marauding quest for greatness.
Graínne knew how to work the game. She knew when to play by the rules and when to manipulate
them. Her reputed spying for the
British Crown was to win favors for her family, and her role as spy didn’t
exempt her from danger. She was at
times imprisoned and came very close to the noose on more than one occasion,
but she knew when to fight (as she often did with the queen’s governors who
didn’t know of her role and with neighboring clans who threatened her family)
and when to play the aristocratic and refined lady. When she met with Queen Elizabeth, Graínne knew how to play
the subdued and educated woman, conversing with the queen in the Latin they
both knew. Unlike some people
today, she knew when to show respect (even if she didn’t feel it). Never would Graínne text during
business meetings or giggle like a child as some people with short attention
spans do now.
Graínne took what life dealt her and rose above any
adversity. She was a woman in a time when women were sold into marriage for an
alliance. Her first marriage to
Donal O’Flaherty united two clans, but when her husband proved rash and stupid,
Graínne saved their family and her children’s future. After his death, Graínne formed her own marriage to Richard
Bourke, an advantageous match for them both. Richard was the one man very much her equal, but even when
she had a less than perfect marriage to Donal, she carried on and didn’t berate
him or cry about her unhappy lot.
Too many people today live their existences for prime time television,
letting their colleagues know that they were thrown onto the street as teens or
even that they may or may not have had disturbed parents. They talk endlessly, hoping for
sympathy as the rest of us are subject to their complaints. We hear of everything from their
premature graying, to their erectile dysfunction, to their problematic
flatulence. Graínne knew how to
keep her peace. Her spying for Her
Majesty sometimes bought her and her family freedom from British oppression,
and very few—not even some of the Queen’s advisors—knew of her service to the
Crown. She certainly didn’t
confide in every churl working in her kitchen.
Though tough, Graínne did not hold grudges against her
family or her workers. They were
treated fairly, and even when she had to deal with her son Murrough’s madness,
she easily forgave him after very dramatic discipline. She did not humiliate
him unnecessarily or destroy him, unlike some people today who berate others in
an unprofessional manner, send group emails to humiliate, or harass others
simply because they are angry at the world and feel unloved by their
parents. Of course, I realize that
holding a grudge is not limited to any time period; however, today, many people
have found new ways to bully, degrade or harass others through technology. Frankly, Graínne wouldn’t have played
such a game. She wouldn’t have put
that much into writing. No,
Graínne would have ambushed them but not avoided danger. She would have shown mercy in some
cases, but she wouldn’t have gloried in the bloodshed. Too many people today revel in
metaphoric bloodshed. They love
committing small murders when they are at their computers or in positions of
power.
Read about Graínne O’Malley in Buccaneer Beauty available
now!
http://www.amazon.com/Buccaneer-Beauty-Viola-Russell-ebook/dp/B010MOFENQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1439779557&sr=8-1&keywords=buccaneer+beauty+viola+russell
