Kaiuolani: A princess of Hawaii

"Kaiuolani" by I. William Adams is a historical novel written in the early 20th century. Set in the final years of Hawaii’s monarchy, it intertwines court politics and romantic entanglements as Queen Liliuokolani seeks to reassert royal authority and secure a new constitution. At the center are the spirited Princess Kaiuolani, the loyal Prince Aokahameha, and the ambitious Colonel Floyd Young, with power-brokers and schemers pressing from all sides.

The opening of the novel unfolds at a royal garden fête where the Queen courts unity between factions while quietly hoping Kaiuolani will honor and perhaps one day wed Aokahameha. Instead, the princess impulsively crowns Young in the day’s ceremony, upsetting careful plans and emboldening plotters like Xane Bender and the sharp-tongued journalist Martha Norton. In the legislature, fierce debate over a lottery and opium bill—tied to restoring the monarch’s constitutional powers—ends in passage; Bender joins the cabinet, and Aokahameha becomes commander-in-chief. As the Queen moves to sign the measures and proclaim the new constitution, the elite militia (the Rifles) vanishes from the armory, the press fans unrest, and a massive pro-royalist procession—led by Kaiuolani and the Royal Daughters—marches toward the palace, even as unseen intrigues tighten around the throne.