- Paperback: 304 pages
- Publisher: Simon & Schuster (Mar 6 2001)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0684856913
- ISBN-13: 978-0684856919
- Product Dimensions: 21 x 14 x 1.9 cm
- Shipping Weight: 363 g
- Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #1,441,801 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- See Complete Table of Contents
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Product Details |
Product Description
From Amazon
Mention the word "pirate," and you'll likely conjure up an image, courtesy of Robert Newton's scenery-chewing performance in the 1950 film adaptation of Treasure Island, that features a peg-leg, a parrot, and a mighty "arrrgh."
New Zealand-based maritime historian Joan Druett amends that image to include voices in a higher register, adding She Captains to other works (Hen Frigates, "She Was a Sister Sailor") that address women's roles in the passage and exploration of the high seas. Druett reaches far back in history, opening her lively book with an account of the water-coursing Massegetae queen Tomyris, who bested the Persian king Cyrus on the shores of the Volga River. Druett enlists dozens of other militarily, criminally, and commercially extraordinary women in her dramatis personae, including the Egyptian pharaoh Cleopatra, whose name is synonymous with mysterious beauty but who also commanded a mighty navy; Cheng I Sao, the 18th-century terror of the South China Sea; and Lucy Brewer, who, disguised as a man, served as a common sailor aboard the U.S.S. Constitution. Along the way Druett considers the role of New England women as financial mainstays of the whaling trade, stops at Spanish ports of call controlled by powerful (and sometimes bloodthirsty) women, and generally has a fine time exploring waters that history has little charted. --Gregory McNamee --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
From Publishers Weekly
Following Hen Frigates, an account of 19th-century women at sea, Druett tackles a broader canvas, portraying the exploits of seafaring women throughout history. Though unevenly paced, this entertaining work is filled with fascinating characters distinguished by "bold enterprise in the history of the sea" and a robust appreciation of women's forgotten or little-known role in maritime activity. The cast ranges from Cleopatra, the Valkyries, pirate queens such as Anne Bonny and cross-dressing sailors to tough mariners' wives, lighthouse keepers like Kate Walkers at Robbins Reef, N.Y., and enterprising ship owners. Some are memorialized in legend, like the Irish pirate Grace O'Malley, while others are included because of their influential relationships: Emma Hamilton had a scandalous affair with Admiral Nelson; Lady Jane Franklin launched an intensive campaign for the rescue of her husband's lost 1845 Polar expedition that not only secured Sir John Franklin's reputation as an arctic explorer but led to the opening and mapping of new arctic routes. While the early chapters are densely populated and rooted in myth, literature and folk tales, the livelier stories in the second half draw on contemporary documents and diaries, often coming boldly to life and occasionally ringing with familiar themes, as in the story of Grace Horseley Darling, a lighthouse keeper's daughter who helped rescue shipwreck victims off the coast of Northumberland in 1838 and was made into a folk heroine by an invasive, greedy press. Line drawings. (Mar.)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Inside This Book
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First Sentence
After the time of Queen Tomyris, the Persian kings who succeeded Cyrus the Great-first his son Cambyses and then Darius the Great-were still determined to conquer the known world. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
After the time of Queen Tomyris, the Persian kings who succeeded Cyrus the Great-first his son Cambyses and then Darius the Great-were still determined to conquer the known world. Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
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Customer Reviews
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Most helpful customer reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
Sea Legs or She Legs,
By
This review is from: She Captains: Heroines and Hellions of the Sea (Paperback)
In general this is a collection of stories of women associated with seafaring. Not all were 'captains', but that's not really material to the focus of the book, which is to provide the reader with ample examples of women who worked in the maritime trade (in one way or another).The topics range from royalty and psuedo-royalty, to pirates, to wives. For the most part the women are of strong character and know what they want. Druett, writes well and the stories are entertaining and well researched.
4.0 out of 5 stars
Queens of the High Seas,
By Shannon "elflass" (Dallas, Texas USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: She Captains: Heroines and Hellions of the Sea (Hardcover)
People may think that the womens' movement began in the 1960s or '70s, but the ladies whose stories are told in this book prove that female empowerment was alive and kicking on-board clipper ships and at the helm of pirate cutters long before Gloria Steinem was a gleam in her mother's eye. This book tells the stories of numerous fascinating female buccaneers who could be just as ruthless as their male counterparts and hold sway over crews of male sailors. Even if you're familiar with Anne Bonny and Mary Read, you will learn about many of their lesser-known compatriots and their world. This is an intriguing study of women in a career that has been generally relegated to the male realm in popular thought.
Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta) Amazon.com:
3.0 out of 5 stars (7 customer reviews) 19 of 19 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
Queens of the High Seas,
By Shannon "elflass" - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: She Captains: Heroines and Hellions of the Sea (Hardcover)
People may think that the womens' movement began in the 1960s or '70s, but the ladies whose stories are told in this book prove that female empowerment was alive and kicking on-board clipper ships and at the helm of pirate cutters long before Gloria Steinem was a gleam in her mother's eye. This book tells the stories of numerous fascinating female buccaneers who could be just as ruthless as their male counterparts and hold sway over crews of male sailors. Even if you're familiar with Anne Bonny and Mary Read, you will learn about many of their lesser-known compatriots and their world. This is an intriguing study of women in a career that has been generally relegated to the male realm in popular thought.
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
Sea Legs or She Legs,
By David Stapleton - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: She Captains: Heroines and Hellions of the Sea (Paperback)
In general this is a collection of stories of women associated with seafaring. Not all were 'captains', but that's not really material to the focus of the book, which is to provide the reader with ample examples of women who worked in the maritime trade (in one way or another).The topics range from royalty and psuedo-royalty, to pirates, to wives. For the most part the women are of strong character and know what they want. Druett, writes well and the stories are entertaining and well researched. 12 of 13 people found the following review helpful
2.0 out of 5 stars
Not enough information, some of it very wrong,
By Lilia - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: She Captains: Heroines and Hellions of the Sea (Hardcover)
I'm still in the middle of this book. The subject matter is interesting, but it skims over the tales too quickly (e.g., how and when were Rackham et al captured?). Druett also jumps around too much - mixing the tales of more than one woman who were unrelated in terms of place and time.In addition, the book really bothered me for its lack of quality research. The author relied too much upon myths and stereotypes to embellish her story. In particular, the chapter about the Vikings contained a lot of misinformation, most from romanticized tales from the Victorian era. A 30-second web search would have told her that the Vikings didn't wear horned helmets, that they ate a lot more than plain, boiled meat (as traders and farmers, they had access to a variety of fruit, vegetables, herbs, and spices), etc. They were a lot more sophisticated than Druett made out. It's fine as light reading and a quick overview of the topic, but the devil's in the details. |
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