Pirate Women

February 15, 2017
Pirate. The word typically evokes images of a rum-drinking, swashbuckling male scoundrel who prowls the Caribbean plundering and searching for treasure. Duncombe turns this stereotype on its head in her wave-making history chronicling the females who ruled the Seven Seas. From women who commanded fearsome fleets in the ancient Mediterranean, to the powerful and daring women who terrorized the South China Sea, readers meet women from all walks of life in this engrossing exploration of the legends, myths, and truths of an aspect of global piracy that has been woefully overlooked. In addition to gathering and presenting information about these successful women pirates, Duncombe also illuminates the periods in which they lived and asks what drove them to piracy. Why were their lives and feats ignored or concealed? Their stories are wonderfully varied and fascinating, as one theme resonates: their desire for freedom. 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. For more group biographies, see the Core Collection on p.22.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2017, American Library Association.)