Briony Cameron “The Ballad of Jacquotte Delahaye”

This debut novel from Briony Cameron is an amazing read. The Ballad of Jacquotte Delahaye is based on the life of a legendary female pirate of the Caribbean. The story begins with a short prologue, set at the start of 1656, with Jacquotte in prison, and awaiting execution, for her supposed crimes as a pirate. The narrative then moves back to the series of events, just three months earlier, in which Jacquotte, a determined woman, aged just 20, moves from being a shipwright to a pirate.  

The early chapters unveil a series of surprises, which force Jacquotte to re-examine her already difficult place in a male-dominated society, as she faces double prejudice. Jacquotte is an assertive young woman, running a successful business, and the mixed race daughter of a white Frenchman and a black local woman. This happens in Saint-Domingue, a Spanish colony in the western part of the island of Hispaniola, a territory that corresponds to the contemporary Haiti. The actions of her father find Jacquotte tangled up in a dangerous political plot, as Florian – her old friend, about to become enemy – challenges the rule of his uncle, the local governor. Coincidentally, the early part of 2024 has sadly seen instability in Haiti, with the collapse of its government, amidst gang warfare in the capital city, Port-au-Prince.  

Wishing to avoid spoilers, I will not say much about what happens once Jacquotte becomes a pirate, but must compliment the many dramatic twists. These stretch across Hispaniola, Cuba, Jamaica, and even a long Atlantic voyage south to Brazil – illustrated by a map in the preliminary pages. Briony Cameron packs an enormous degree of detail into the 360 pages of this tale. The narrative moves at a great pace, while the development of the characters of Jacquotte, Marceau (her brother), Teresa (her lover), and their growing circle of friends, is excellent.

As someone who is a bit squeamish, I admit there was a bit more violence than would have suited me, but the author is good at writing fight scenes, particularly an extended battle for control of a town, near the end of the book. This work takes on difficult themes, including slavery and domestic abuse, with the outlaw pirate crew being cast as more enlightened than the people who make the laws. There are some beautiful descriptions of scenery, along with evocative descriptions of the clothes people wear, and the food they eat. Amidst the brutality, there are pauses for some great humour.

This is one of the finest pieces of historical fiction I have read. The publicity for the novel says it “reimagines one of the first purported female pirates to sail the Caribbean in the seventeenth century”. Whenever I read a historical novel, I avoid reading the detailed factual background, to keep clear of possible spoilers. Once I finished The Ballad of Jacquotte Delahaye, I learned that she was probably not a real person, but has become a legendary character. In that spirit, we should celebrate Briony’s work, as a great development of the story of Jacquotte Delahaye, and a testament to the camaraderie that can be found among society’s underdogs, both past and present.

The Ballad of Jacquotte Delahaye by Briony Cameron is published in the US by Atria Books on April 6 2024 (the day I am writing this review), and in the UK by Piatkus on June 6 2024.

Many thanks to Piatkus for sending me a free proof copy of the UK edition, ahead of publication, in return for an honest review.