'This is children's fiction at its best'

Blackbeard’s Treasure has been given a wonderful review in The Lady Magazine’s January Issue.

“BLACKBEARD’S TREASURE by Iszi Lawrence (Bloomsbury Education, £7.99)

A bit like Pirates of the Caribbean with a plucky young heroine, this historical novel for children aged from nine to 11 is as educational as it is swashbuckling.

In the 18th-century West Indies Abigail lives on her father’s sugar plantation, where slaves ‘work without sleep’ to bring in the harvest. Expected to wear muslin dresses and sit demurely under a parasol, Abigail prefers to play pirates with the slave boy Boubacar, her nanny’s son - even if Nanny Inna will scold.

Abigail’s life is upturned, and all her certainties about propriety, right and wrong go out of the window - along with her dresses - when real-life pirates raid the island and kill her father, but not before revealing unsavoury details about his time at sea. Abigail finds herself barefoot and in breeches, on board a pirate ship with her friend.

This is children’s fiction at its best. Although lifted by redemptive notes of hope, resilience and friendship, it doesn’t mince its words when it comes to the cruel realities of slavery, life on board ship, and finding out unpleasant truths about one’s parents. Lawrence conveys island life in the period in nuanced detail, along with historical events from the golden age of piracy. Perfect for fans of Jacqueline Wilson.”

— The Lady Magazine JC

How fantastic is that?

I do hope you read it and if you do, please do write a review - they mean so much to me. If you hate it, please lie.

iszi

x