Product Description

Women have always been involved in maritime life, but their stories have rarely been told. David Cordingly looks at this traditionally male domain and finds some remarkable women: Mary Patten, who took command of a vessel and sailed it round Cape Horn at the age of nineteen; Grace Darling, the daughter of a lighthouse keeper, who rowed out in ferocious seas to rescue three shipwrecked men; and the awesome Anne Bonny, who disguised herself as a man and became a fearsome pirate before being sentenced to the gallows.

From the waterfront prostitutes and the women who went to sea dressed as sailors, to the wives who were left waiting at home, HEROINES AND HARLOTS looks at the unique relationship between women and the sea.

'Fascinating, never at a loss for detail.' Herald

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #610863 in Books
• Published on: 2002-05-10
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 200 pages

About the Author
David Cordingly was Keeper of the Pictures at the National Maritime Museum at Greenwich. He is the author of many books including 'Life Among the Pirates', which was published to great acclaim. He is now recognised as the world authority on pirates and lives by the sea in Brighton.

Customer Reviews

Fascinating account of women in the great age of piracy!
I have been a fan of David's work for a long time and this book does not disappoint. Well researched and with good insight - it was a great read and I highly recommend this book. Great to read by the beach or on an island in the Caribbean where so much of the action took place!

tales about women
This is a well-researched book and a good easy introduction to women's connections with the sea. Lighthouse women, cross-dressed mariners, waterfront sex industry workers, devoted seagoing wives - they're all there.
I personally would have liked these women's experiences to be analysed through gendered lenses. In that way they could be seen afresh as part of a context of systematic gendered treatment of one sex by another, not just individuals. Women are PRODUCED by their social situations. And what is fascinating about seawomen is how much their behaviour and treatment on ship is like or unlike that ashore.
In other words, I'd like to know more about what led the women in this book to putting on manly disguises, being brave,taking up pirating, having babies on warships etc. What constrained them? What were the after-effects?
One of this readable book's great strengths is that it is geographically unboundaried - we learn about Europe but also the US and Australia. The author's knowledge of Caribbean piracy enriches it.