Around 1533, two baby girls were born whose lives would alter the course of history. One was Elizabeth, daughter of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn, destined to become one of England’s most famed monarchs. The other was Gráinne Ní Mhaille—Anglicized as Grace O’Malley—daughter of Irish chieftain Dudara O’Malley, who commanded her own fleet and earn the title of “the most famous woman sea captain.” As Elizabeth sought to tighten England’s grip on Ireland, Grace led the fight against English rule.

Elizabeth’s life is preserved in portraits, records, and chronicles of her reign. Grace’s story comes in fragments—part legend, part documented fact—but all revealing a fiercely independent leader who lived on her own terms. In a time of political and military struggle, these two powerful women met face-to-face in an encounter that would shape the fate of Ireland.

Historian and author Carol Ann Lloyd-Stanger traces O’Malley’s remarkable life—from working alongside her father at sea to gaining wealth and land through marriage and battle to continuing to resist English authority. She explores O'Malley’s extraordinary political maneuvering in securing a personal audience with Elizabeth I—and emerging victorious. She also examines O'Malley’s enduring legacy as one of Ireland’s most legendary pirates.

Lloyd-Stanger, former manager of visitor education and current researcher at the Folger Shakespeare Library, lectures internationally on history and Shakespeare. She is the author of The Tudors by Numbers and Courting the Virgin Queen.

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