Customer Reviews

Bold in Her Breeches: Women Pirates Across the Ages

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Despite the fact that a lot of the book is not spent on actual biographies of these fascinating women, I would recommend it. A large part of the book is spent on what ecomonic/social conditions led these women into piracy, and whether or not they were prostitutes, lesbians, or cross-dressed as men. However, the most engrossing chapters deal with the events of their lives and give us a closer look at women who were certainly exceptional (in their courage and also sometimes ruthlessness). I especially liked that it dealt with female pirates from various time periods and nationalities - from ancient Greece right up to modern day Asia. Overall, it's an interesting tale of a frequently overlooked part of history.

It seems to be a good overview of the concept of women pirates and their individual stories, or at least how much we do know about each individual pirate, since there are very few records to be found on them. This is more directed towards a popular audience but each chapter does include a great deal of notes and sources as to where she acquired the information. Jo Stanley is a radical cultural worker who has compiled a variety of material usually about women's work and representation. The main contributors to the novel, Anne Chambers, Dian H. Murray, and Julie Wheelwright are all known historians with backgrounds in women's studies.

The book seemed to be more about gender issues than piracy, female or otherwise. Not at all what I had hoped for.

Once you get past the first few chapters of feminist dogma the book gives some good information on women sailors including Grace O'Malley, Anne Bonney and Mary Reed. The author spends a lot of time speculating on the sexual orientation of these women since most women sailors dressed as men but doesn't give any evidence for or against her speculatons.

This is one of the most informative and enjoyable books I have read on pirates. If you are interested in historically accurate books about pirates and one that focuses on female pirates, THIS BOOK IS A MUST READ.

Anyone setting out to publish a book on pirates has to bridge the difficult ground between good scholarship and popular public perception, and a book on women pirates has to span and even bigger gap between legend and documented reality. Jo Stanley takes a new approach to this, which is more successful than many.

This is partly because of her bright and breezy writing style. While headings such as "A cool look at a hot topic" seem startling at first, and the feminist message is somewhat pro forma, the main thrust is surprisingly beguiling, mostly because the reader is so irresistibly tugged into the slipstream of Stanley's energy and enthusiasm.

Another reason the book works well is the caliber of the guest contributors. While just 77 pages are devoted to their essays, the impressive quality outweighs the lack of space. All three writers are dedicated and gifted scholars, and each has made some aspect of the topic peculiarly her own. Anne Chambers is the authority on Grace O'Malley, "Pirate Queen of Ireland," while Dian Murray ("Cheng I Sao in fact and fiction") is as wellknown for her insight into Chinese pirates as Julie Wheelwright ("Tars, tarts, and swashbucklers") is for her studies of cross-dressed female soldiers and seamen.

What I found most striking, though, is the cohesive quality of this collection. In most anthologies each essay has its own tone and style, which too often jars with the technique of the preceding or following contribution, the editor(s) looking for little more than academic credibility and adherence to a common theme. Here, all three specialists have taken pains to match the editor's straightforward, frank approach, but without sacrificing solid information and excellent writing.

This success if due in no small way to Jo Stanley's considerable talents as an editor and organizer. As the coordinator of the Women and the Sea network at the National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London, she is obviously the right woman in the right place at the right time.