THE LAST PRINCESS: The Story of Princess Ka'iulani of Hawai'i

by Fay Stanley ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 22, 1991

Third in line for the throne when she was born in 1875 to the younger sister of Princess (later Queen) Lili'oukalani and the Scottish Archibald Cleghorn, Ka'iulani's short life was dominated by the dissolution of the Hawaiian monarchy. Her happy childhood came to an end when her mother died in 1887; she was sent to school in England, where it took weeks for her to learn that American Marines had forced her aunt to give up the throne. At 17, Ka'iulani traveled to Washington to intervene for her people, but--despite a sympathetic hearing from President Cleveland--to little avail; back in Hawaii by the time of formal annexation, she caught pneumonia a few months later, dying at 23. The artist's mother reports this brief life with simple dignity; but most compelling here are Diane Stanley's well-researched, jewel-bright paintings, her carefully delineated figures, stiff as old photos, deployed against a wealth of pattern and landscape. Attractive; informative. Note on the Hawaiian language; bibliography.

Pub Date: April 22, 1991

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: 40

Publisher: Four Winds/Macmillan

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 1991

Categories: CHILDREN'S