SEABORNE – 19th APRIL 2024

All publicity/appearance requests for SEABORNE to
des.doyle@newisland.ie and/or peteroconnellmedia@gmail.com

You can pre-order SEABORNE here.

Irish writer Nuala O’Connor’s sixth novel, SEABORNE, will be published April 2024, by New Island. Her bestselling novel NORA, about Nora Barnacle and James Joyce, was named a Top 10 historical novel in the New York Times and was the One Dublin One Book choice for 2022.

About SEABORNE:

1703. In Kinsale, County Cork, Anne Coleman is the illegitimate child of a local lawyer and his maid; disguised as ‘Anthony’ to protect reputations, the mask suits her just fine. But, obsessed with boats and the sea, Anne struggles to fit in, and her devoted mother fears for her fiercely independent and impulsive daughter.

When secrets are exposed, the family emigrates to the new colony of Carolina, but this fresh start brings huge loss and stifling responsibilities. A lonely and transgressive Anne finds comfort only with Bedelia, servant and intimate friend. But her craving for the sea-wandering life and a misjudged marriage to Gabriel Bonny compel Anne to take to the sea again, this time to the islands of the Caribbean, famous for plunder and piracy.

Adventure and freedom await, but so do violence and disappointment. While exploring her sexuality, and ideals around friendship and self-belief, Anne Bonny must also face her own privilege and the sacrifices required for enduring love.

Seaborne is the thrilling and sensuous portrait of a young woman out of step with her time and place, but never her heart.

Advance praise for SEABORNE:

‘Nuala O’Connor consistently writes the most captivating novels. No one writes voice quite as well. Seaborne is an intimate, intriguing and irreverent portrait of a woman we should all know more about. I was spellbound from start to finish.’ —Jan Carson

‘Seaborne is a rollicking triumph of passion, and a powerful portrayal of Irish pirate, Anne Bonny––a true original. Faultless in tone, this novel is a wonderfully rendered re-imagining of a great historical figure, and confirms (what I already knew) that O’Connor is one of Ireland’s leading historical novelists. Filled with desire, ambition, bravery and soul, this novel is a wonderful achievement.’ —Elaine Feeney

‘What an immense pleasure it was to read and what a gorgeous and perfect ending. I love how Nuala has given a full fictive life to this incredible woman, and the women she loved, showing us how ‘they cut their own paths. Knew their hearts.’ This book, like Anne’s life, is a fabulous voyage, a wonderful, buoyant tale, sublimely imagined and beautifully told.’ —Donal Ryan

‘Readers can hear the snap of sails and smell the tang of sea salt in this immersive novel about the buccaneering Anne Bonny – an irrepressible and irresistible protagonist.’ —Martina Devlin 

‘Seaborne is an immersive and beguiling novel. O’Connor’s vibrant, sensual prose is a joy to read.’ —Danielle McLaughlin