Pirate Women

The Princesses, Prostitutes, and Privateers Who Ruled the Seven Seas

By: Laura Sook Duncombe

Narrated by: Hillary Huber

In the first-ever history of the world's female buccaneers, Pirate Women: the Princesses, Prostitutes, and Privateers Who Ruled the Seven Seas tells the story of women, both real and legendary, who through the ages sailed alongside - and sometimes in command of - their male counterparts. These women came from all walks of life but had one thing in common: a desire for freedom. History has largely ignored these female swashbucklers - until now. Here are their stories, from ancient Norse princess Alfhild and warrior Rusla to Sayyida al-Hurra of the Barbary corsairs; from Grace O'Malley, who terrorized shipping operations around the British Isles during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, to Cheng I Sao, who commanded a fleet of 400 ships off China in the early 19th century. Author Laura Sook Duncombe also looks beyond the stories to the storytellers and mythmakers. What biases and agendas motivated them? What did they leave out? Pirate Women explores why and how these stories are told and passed down and how history changes depending on who is recording it. It's the most comprehensive overview of women pirates in one volume and chock-full of swashbuckling adventures that pull these unique women from the shadows into the spotlight that they deserve.

©2017 Laura Sook Duncombe (P)2017 Tantor

Critic reviews

"Duncombe's well-researched account will appeal to history and women's studies aficionados, lovers of myth and lore, and all interested in viewing the past through a new lens." ( Booklist)

Good, I liked it

Interesting to hear about more female pirates than I was aware of. It was padded out more than I would have liked with current social commentary than I cared for but a good listen

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Cherie
The first is in fact they can do it again in your own site for

Fantastic Book & Narration

I read a lot of pirate books -nonfiction and fiction and this is my favorite. It explores women pirates that weren’t even mentioned in other books as well as how these women’s stories are perceived and were recorded. The narrator was also excellent.

Pirate Women!

History has numerous examples of pirate men, but how about pirate women? This book does a great job of telling the stories of pirate women throughout history.

Satisfactory

It’s a good book. A lot of other reviews are down marking it due to some of its historical inaccuracy but that fact is it’s nature and Duncombe differentiates exactly what is fact and fiction and (unknown which one). The only thing I didn’t like was the clear 4th wave feminist biased she exhibits throughout the novel but especially her conspiracy theories about the patriarchy in film in the last chapter.