Reviewed by Maranda Moses

In her second novel, The Pirate’s Daughter, author Margaret Cezair-Thompson not only draws on inspiration from her native Jamaica to tell quite an impressive tale, but she also makes use of the life of controversial actor, Errol Flynn. Flynn, a native of Tasmania, Australia, who eventually moved to the US and became an overnight success in Hollywood during the 1930s and 40s, is credited as one of the celebrities who helped cultivate a vibrant tourism industry in Jamaica, particularly Port Antonio where he first arrived in 1946. The controversy lies in the fact that Flynn had many sexual liaisons with women, even during his three marriages, and was accused of statutory rape by two teenage girls. He escaped to Jamaica where he avoided the scandals surrounding his illicit romps with underage girls. In the “Author’s Note,” Cezair-Thompson cites that this is as far as the facts go in her novel and that the rest of her story is fiction.

Readers are first introduced to Ida, a naïve 13-year-
old girl eager to mature into one of Flynn’s lovers.

Her Lebanese father, Eli Joseph, owns a small taxi business and is the loyal friend who guides Flynn around Jamaica. There is also Esme, Ida’s mother and Eli’s common-law wife.

Eli comes to Flynn’s rescue by serving as chauffeur and spending vast amounts of money on him while commuting around Port Antonio. Ida becomes infatuated with the actor, despite Esme’s attempts to protect her from the adult world. Unmistakably, this fails. Ida is eventually lured in by Flynn and becomes pregnant with his child. Naturally, Flynn abandons Ida, her family, and ultimately the people of Port Antonio.

Through a series of events, including Esme’s death and Eli’s failed health, Ida supports her family by going abroad to earn a living. She finds herself for a time being reduced from a middle-class girl to a poor young émigré living in New York. Through a series of letters, the reader learns that Ida has a difficult time through her immigrant experience. This is one of the strongest aspects of storytelling in the novel.

One of the saddest aspects of Ida’s character is that even after Flynn’s death and she has reached adulthood, she is still unable to resign her childhood infatuation with the actor. She idealistically goes on carrying a torch for a man who did nothing but beguile her. And even during her marriage to a Baron, she still hangs on to this juvenile fascination of her former love.

Another commendable part of this book is Ida’s relationship with her daughter, May, who is obviously affected by her mother’s departure. However, May, as is learned, is a force of nature. She seems fearless. In the search for her own identity among her loving mother, her deceased father, and a stepfather who is adamant about keeping secrets about his past, her rebellious personality seems to parallel the cultural shift going on in Jamaica post British rule. May experiences disappointment in love, experiments with drugs and sex, and must cope with racial attitudes about her white skin.

Despite an over-the-top ending, readers will find The Pirate’s Daughter hard to lay to rest until the end. And although Cezair-Thompson claims she has only used a portion of Flynn’s history for her novel, with this actor’s well-known appetite for young women, it is certainly plausible that this novel could be a true story.