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Queen of the Pirate Isle
Francis Bret Harte (1836-1902) was a prolific American author and poet, best remembered for his accounts of pioneering life in California. The spirit of Dickens breathes through the poems and stories of Bret Harte just as the spirit of Bret Harte breathes through the poems and stories of Kipling.
91 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1886
About the author
Bret Harte
3,173 books63 followersPeople note American writer Francis Bret Harte for
The Luck of Roaring Camp and Other Sketches
(1870), his best-known collection of his stories about California mining towns.
People best remember this poet for his short-story fiction, featuring miners, gamblers, and other romantic figures of the Gold Rush. In a career, spanning more than four decades, he wrote poetry, plays, lectures, book reviews, editorials, and magazine sketches in addition to fiction. As he moved from California to the eastern United States to Europe, he incorporated new subjects and characters into his stories, but people most often reprinted, adapted, and admired his tales of the Gold Rush.
Parents named him after Francis Brett, his great-grandfather. Bernard Hart, paternal grandfather of Francis and an Orthodox Jewish immigrant, flourished as a merchant and founded the New York stock exchange. Henry, father of the young Francis, changed the spelling of the family name from Hart to Harte. Later, Francis preferred that people know his middle name, which he spelled Bret with only one t.
An avid reader as a boy, Harte at 11 years of age published his first work, a satirical poem, titled "Autumn Musings", now lost. Rather than attracting praise, the poem garnered ridicule from his family. As an adult, he recalled to a friend, "Such a shock was their ridicule to me that I wonder that I ever wrote another line of verse". His formal schooling ended at 13 years of age in 1849.
People best remember this poet for his short-story fiction, featuring miners, gamblers, and other romantic figures of the Gold Rush. In a career, spanning more than four decades, he wrote poetry, plays, lectures, book reviews, editorials, and magazine sketches in addition to fiction. As he moved from California to the eastern United States to Europe, he incorporated new subjects and characters into his stories, but people most often reprinted, adapted, and admired his tales of the Gold Rush.
Parents named him after Francis Brett, his great-grandfather. Bernard Hart, paternal grandfather of Francis and an Orthodox Jewish immigrant, flourished as a merchant and founded the New York stock exchange. Henry, father of the young Francis, changed the spelling of the family name from Hart to Harte. Later, Francis preferred that people know his middle name, which he spelled Bret with only one t.
An avid reader as a boy, Harte at 11 years of age published his first work, a satirical poem, titled "Autumn Musings", now lost. Rather than attracting praise, the poem garnered ridicule from his family. As an adult, he recalled to a friend, "Such a shock was their ridicule to me that I wonder that I ever wrote another line of verse". His formal schooling ended at 13 years of age in 1849.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
October 1, 2019
Originally published in 1886, The Queen of the Pirate Isle is a short story set in and around a mining camp in gold-rush California - a milieu that features in almost all of Bret Harte's work. Illustrated in this 1931 edition by the fabulous Kate Greenaway, for whom Britain's premier illustrator's award is named, it seems at first glance to be a story for children.
The four young protagonists - imaginative Polly, her cousin Hickory Hunt, their Chinese "page" Wan Lee, and neighbor-boy Patsey - are all children, and Harte here relates their adventures playing pirate. Unfortunately, the narrative is somewhat muddled, with a "realistic" runaway-adventure being followed by a (possible) dream sequence, morphing into an imaginary/fantastic adventure, which turns out to be "real" play. The connection between these various scenes is not always clear, and the language is rather dense. I find it hard to imagine that young readers, in Harte's day or in our own, would find this narrative appealing, leading me to suspect that this is an adult story presented here as a children's book because its protagonists are young.
Leaving aside the question of the intended audience for The Queen of the Pirate Isle, Harte's narrative is also marred by his racist portrayal of Wan Lee, who speaks in the regrettable dialect reserved for "Oriental" characters in nineteenth and early twentieth-century literature. If I were rating this book based solely upon the text, this combination of unappealing story and anachronistic social themes would probably result in a single star.
Fortunately (or not, as the case may be), I did find Kate Greenaway's illustrations absolutely delightful, and have therefore given this an added star. All in all, this is not a title I would recommend to readers either young or old, although Greenaway devotees will no doubt get something out of the experience.
The four young protagonists - imaginative Polly, her cousin Hickory Hunt, their Chinese "page" Wan Lee, and neighbor-boy Patsey - are all children, and Harte here relates their adventures playing pirate. Unfortunately, the narrative is somewhat muddled, with a "realistic" runaway-adventure being followed by a (possible) dream sequence, morphing into an imaginary/fantastic adventure, which turns out to be "real" play. The connection between these various scenes is not always clear, and the language is rather dense. I find it hard to imagine that young readers, in Harte's day or in our own, would find this narrative appealing, leading me to suspect that this is an adult story presented here as a children's book because its protagonists are young.
Leaving aside the question of the intended audience for The Queen of the Pirate Isle, Harte's narrative is also marred by his racist portrayal of Wan Lee, who speaks in the regrettable dialect reserved for "Oriental" characters in nineteenth and early twentieth-century literature. If I were rating this book based solely upon the text, this combination of unappealing story and anachronistic social themes would probably result in a single star.
Fortunately (or not, as the case may be), I did find Kate Greenaway's illustrations absolutely delightful, and have therefore given this an added star. All in all, this is not a title I would recommend to readers either young or old, although Greenaway devotees will no doubt get something out of the experience.
December 2, 2015
Maybe I am a bit too old to read this one, but I enjoyed it a lot. Kids have imagination, but this kid had more than anyone else. I liked the ending of the story, and will most likely read some more stuff by Bret Harte.
March 3, 2016
Strange book. Nice illustrations though.
March 3, 2023
I tracked down this 1886 children’s book because it was illustrated by Kate Greenaway, an artist who was so influential she created a trend in children’s fashion in both the UK and America. And the illustrations are lovely, although often not placed where they are relevant to the story (the story gets ahead of them).
The title sounded intriguing as well, but the story is not what I expected. Given Greenaway was British and the style of her illustrations, I assumed this story was about British children, but it’s set in a mining town in California. The Queen of Pirate Isle is actually an ordinary little girl named Polly with a vivid imagination. Polly, her cousin Hickory, Wan Lee—a Chinese boy who works for them but is also a playmate, and a neighbor boy, Patsey, head out of the house on an adventure that takes them not to an isle but to the nearby mine. The get in a pit of run-off mud, slide down a high and steep hill full of gravel, and wander into the mine itself. So not exactly cautious children, nor are they supervised.
The line between imagination and reality tends to blur. But Polly seems fairly authentic—she imagines herself the pirate queen, but in that role she tends to mother the boys who are her pirates, feeding them and putting them to bed. (A little like Wendy in Peter Pan). She also has a morbid flight of fancy where she imagines she’s a starving widow, homeless and begging for scraps, and her few remaining children sick and dying.
It’s not clear who this book is for—adults or children. There are a lot of hefty words, and the insights into how children play seem to be more an adult perspective.
It was interesting to me that Wan Lee was both servant and playmate, and really more the latter. Of course, his depiction is horrifically racist, with offensively stereotyped (and often incomprehensible) dialogue and actions. It took me far too long to figure out that “Melican” was “American.” He also apparently carries around fireworks (?). It’s why I couldn’t rate this higher. But the book is still an interesting glimpse into another time, and the illustrations in the Frederick Warne edition (mine is from the 1950s) are of a quality in terms of printings that you just don’t see anymore.
The title sounded intriguing as well, but the story is not what I expected. Given Greenaway was British and the style of her illustrations, I assumed this story was about British children, but it’s set in a mining town in California. The Queen of Pirate Isle is actually an ordinary little girl named Polly with a vivid imagination. Polly, her cousin Hickory, Wan Lee—a Chinese boy who works for them but is also a playmate, and a neighbor boy, Patsey, head out of the house on an adventure that takes them not to an isle but to the nearby mine. The get in a pit of run-off mud, slide down a high and steep hill full of gravel, and wander into the mine itself. So not exactly cautious children, nor are they supervised.
The line between imagination and reality tends to blur. But Polly seems fairly authentic—she imagines herself the pirate queen, but in that role she tends to mother the boys who are her pirates, feeding them and putting them to bed. (A little like Wendy in Peter Pan). She also has a morbid flight of fancy where she imagines she’s a starving widow, homeless and begging for scraps, and her few remaining children sick and dying.
It’s not clear who this book is for—adults or children. There are a lot of hefty words, and the insights into how children play seem to be more an adult perspective.
It was interesting to me that Wan Lee was both servant and playmate, and really more the latter. Of course, his depiction is horrifically racist, with offensively stereotyped (and often incomprehensible) dialogue and actions. It took me far too long to figure out that “Melican” was “American.” He also apparently carries around fireworks (?). It’s why I couldn’t rate this higher. But the book is still an interesting glimpse into another time, and the illustrations in the Frederick Warne edition (mine is from the 1950s) are of a quality in terms of printings that you just don’t see anymore.
March 21, 2021
This public domain ebook is missing the most important bit: the illustrations by Kate Greenaway that made up the bulk of the originally published work. The short story that was so illustrated is a bit bland without the artwork. It’s a good story in itself, with a deep insight into children’s imaginations, but nothing special. Very much a product of its time.
February 16, 2026
Found this beautiful hardcover book in a second hand shop 📖 It’s really old, but in great condition and with beautiful pictures too ✍🏼
I really liked the story, it’s quite short, but feels like you’re in a child’s head again, on an adventure with them, with so much imagination 💭
I really liked the story, it’s quite short, but feels like you’re in a child’s head again, on an adventure with them, with so much imagination 💭
December 30, 2016
A short, humorous tale of a little girl and three boys who begin by imagining themselves pirates and end by showing the adults the way to a rich mine. A short read, good for a quick relaxing moment.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 2, 2009
This was a quaint story about children with very vivid imaginations written by an author who didn't write for children. I rather doubt he intended it for children, as the ending is rather confused, and it seems to really have been written to tell the story of how a particular mine got discovered, which is more along the lines of what Harte wrote about. However, the beautiful illustrations by Kate Greenaway tend to push it toward the children's lit category. I certainly enjoyed the description of how Polly's imagination worked. Given that the book was originally written in 1886, I can forgive his stereotyped depiction of Wan Lee's speech (changing all his r's to l's), which was difficult to read at times. All in all, an interesting period piece, worth it for his wonderful writing style and Greenaway's lovely illustrations.
January 19, 2014
A sweet little story about children and their active imaginations. I loved this sweet short story. Four and a half stars.
September 1, 2015
I read this book in an antique book store. It is so interesting. And Polly is fabulous. And I would love to own it one day.
September 8, 2015
the writing shows this to be a product of pre-civil rights america - the story is enjoyable and the art could be framed but the words used are ugly.
June 29, 2015
I definitely liked this book a wee bit too much.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews