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The real Pirates of the Caribbean were Black, and women! From Vanessa Riley, acclaimed author of Queen of Exiles, comes a sweeping, immersive saga based on the life of the legendary seventeenth-century pirate Jacquotte Delehaye.
The Caribbean Sea, 1675. Jacquotte Delahaye is the mixed-race daughter of a wealthy tavern owner on the island of Tortuga. Instead of marriage, Jacquotte dreams of joining the seafarers and smugglers whose tall-masted ships cluster in the turquoise waters around Tortuga. She falls in love with a pirate, but when he returns to the sea, Jacquotte decides to make her own way. In Haiti she becomes Jacques, a dockworker, earning the respect of those around her while hiding her gender.
Jacquotte discovers that secret identities are fairly common in the chaotic world of seafaring, which is full of outsiders and misfits. She forms a deep bond with Bahati, an African-born woman who has escaped slavery and also disguises herself as a man to navigate the world. They join forces with Dirkje De Wulf, a fearless adventurer who also lives as a man at sea. As Jacques, Jacquotte falls in love with Lizzôa d'Erville, a beautiful courtesan who deals in secrets and sex. While others see their work clothes as a disguise, Lizzôa's true self is as a woman.
For the next twenty years, Jacquotte raids the Caribbean, making enemies and amassing a fortune in stolen gold. When her fellow pirates decide to increase their profits by entering the slave trade, Jacquotte turns away from piracy and the pursuit of riches. Risking her life in one deadly skirmish after another, she instead begins to plot a war of liberation.
What are you reading this week? And what did you think of last week’s books? (5/14/2026)
Finished Kin by Tayari Jones for my book club. Plan to use Book Browse suggested questions to facilitate our discussion. I also read Fire Sword and Sea by Vanessa Riley. Gave me new information on history of female pirates. Have just started Cleopatra by Sara El-Arifi. After reading Aphrodite in Pieces wanted to see...
-Marilyn_M
"Fire Sword and Sea is a tale both timely and powerful. Mixed-race Jacquotte Delahaye grows up the daughter of a wealthy tavern owner in seventeenth century Tortuga, fired equally by dreams of adventure on the high seas and fury at the growing slave trade on her island home. Marriage to a dashing pirate does nothing to quell her thirst for both adventure and justice, and Jacquotte is destined to take to the waves herself with a cadre of fellow female buccaneers. Warrior, liberator, force of nature—Jacquotte, as penned by powerhouse historical fiction author Vanessa Riley, is a heroine for the ages." —Kate Quinn, New York Times bestselling author
"In her latest, Riley provides a fresh take on high seas adventure through the eyes of the courageous, swashbuckling, based-on-a-real-life female pirate Jacquotte Delahaye. The research Riley has done on this 1600s saga is truly remarkable, second only to her depictions of the lush Caribbean setting and the diverse, multi-faceted cast of characters. This is one to be savored." —Fiona Davis, New York Times bestselling author of The Stolen Queen
This information about Fire Sword and Sea was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
In addition to being a novelist, Vanessa Riley holds a doctorate in mechanical engineering from Stanford University and both a BS and MS in mechanical engineering from Penn State. She currently juggles mothering an architect, baking her Trinidadian grandmother's desserts, hugging her retired military husband, and speaking at women's and STEM events. You can often find her writing from the comfort of her Georgia porch, tea or latte in hand.
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