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Emma: Hawaii's Remarkable Queen
The definitive biography of one of the most beloved and influential women in Hawaiian history. Her enduring legacy includes renowned institutions that thrive in Hawai'i today: The Queen's Medical Center, St. Andrew's Priory, 'Iolani School, and St. Andrew's Cathedral.
464 pages, Paperback
First published August 1, 1999
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
March 12, 2016
My interest in Queen Emma was sparked after I visited her Summer Palace here in Honolulu a few months ago. I wanted to know more about her so I went to the gift shop and asked if they could recommend a biography about her. It just so happened that they had the definitive work on her life which was this book so I bought it.
Emma was as extraordinary and well loved as all the flowers, streets, stores, schools, and hospitals named after her suggest. After the devastating loss of her four-year-old son, she was struck down, again, when her young husband passed away less than two years later. Bereft of her son and king-husband, it took her some time to get over her loss, however, she knew that there were other things for to accomplish. Her two biggest projects were establishing a hospital for Hawaiians - Queen's Medical Center - which is still funded by her endowment today. She also established schools for girls - St. Andrew's and raised money for and started the construction on St. Andrew's Cathedral. She was an intelligent, gracious woman who travelled, read widely, and was very involved in the concerns of her native Hawaii. She has boundless energy as well and enjoyed hiking, horseback riding, gardening, cleaning (yes, she got down and dirty along with her household help), politics, medicine (her dad was a doctor), and education.
The author did a great job of researching her life (attested to by the chapter of notes at the end of the book). Like a true historian, he also effectively used evidence and deduction to clear up some misconceptions or unclear episodes in Emma's life.
Emma was as extraordinary and well loved as all the flowers, streets, stores, schools, and hospitals named after her suggest. After the devastating loss of her four-year-old son, she was struck down, again, when her young husband passed away less than two years later. Bereft of her son and king-husband, it took her some time to get over her loss, however, she knew that there were other things for to accomplish. Her two biggest projects were establishing a hospital for Hawaiians - Queen's Medical Center - which is still funded by her endowment today. She also established schools for girls - St. Andrew's and raised money for and started the construction on St. Andrew's Cathedral. She was an intelligent, gracious woman who travelled, read widely, and was very involved in the concerns of her native Hawaii. She has boundless energy as well and enjoyed hiking, horseback riding, gardening, cleaning (yes, she got down and dirty along with her household help), politics, medicine (her dad was a doctor), and education.
The author did a great job of researching her life (attested to by the chapter of notes at the end of the book). Like a true historian, he also effectively used evidence and deduction to clear up some misconceptions or unclear episodes in Emma's life.
August 27, 2025
People are really sleeping on Queen Emma. She was essentially queen to three of the last five Hawaiian monarchs (she represents the last of the Kamehameha lineage during kingdom-era Hawaiʻi), and her legacy today (Queen’s Medical Center) reaches the average Hawaiian resident more than any other wahine mōʻī (barring Liliʻu, who probably reaches farther in the political dimension). She was the people’s queen, and I’m glad this tome exists if only because it serves as a complete biography of her life.
Sometimes I take issue with Kanahele’s choice of formatting (or rather his pointed interpretation, oft verging on speculation, of events that unfortunately didn’t make it on paper), but considering that this was written for the stakeholders of Queen’s Medical, I can’t be too hard.
Queen Emma’s word speaks so true though, she was so thoroughly human, that I endear myself to her some 100+ years after her passing.
Sometimes I take issue with Kanahele’s choice of formatting (or rather his pointed interpretation, oft verging on speculation, of events that unfortunately didn’t make it on paper), but considering that this was written for the stakeholders of Queen’s Medical, I can’t be too hard.
Queen Emma’s word speaks so true though, she was so thoroughly human, that I endear myself to her some 100+ years after her passing.
February 2, 2021
Kanahele provides an expansive and engaging view of Queen Emma of Hawaii
April 6, 2016
This is the definitive biography of Queen Emma, covering her birth to death and beyond. The book is well-organized, with each chapter covering a major event or phase of her life in roughly chronological order. Some chapters went into more detail than I would prefer, but volunteers or employees of the Queen's Hospital may have more interest in learning the specifics of the hospital's legislation and finances.
Queen Emma and her husband King Kamehameha IV not only created a hospital, but were personally involved in the fundraising. King Kamehameha IV himself went door to door soliciting funds and Queen Emma regularly visited the sick and dying at the hospital. A truly noble couple. Queen Emma certainly has a "glorious living legacy" and I wish she were more well-known. Her story is fit for the big screen.
I loved learning about Queen Emma's tragic, dramatic, and sometimes humorous life and would heartily recommend this to anyone interested in royals or Hawaiian history.
Queen Emma and her husband King Kamehameha IV not only created a hospital, but were personally involved in the fundraising. King Kamehameha IV himself went door to door soliciting funds and Queen Emma regularly visited the sick and dying at the hospital. A truly noble couple. Queen Emma certainly has a "glorious living legacy" and I wish she were more well-known. Her story is fit for the big screen.
I loved learning about Queen Emma's tragic, dramatic, and sometimes humorous life and would heartily recommend this to anyone interested in royals or Hawaiian history.
December 26, 2008
I really loved this... I read it while I was on kapu and we were doing a chant on Emma that year. It really helped me see her life and such so that I was better able to portray the hula that I was doing.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews