Female Tars: Women Aboard Ship in the Age of Sail (Hardcover)

by Suzanne J. Stark (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
Though officially ignored by the Admiralty, women on the vessels of the British Royal Navy, according to this myth-puncturing study, exerted a surprisingly strong presence in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, during both peace and war. Stark, an editor at American Neptune magazine, distinguishes three primary sorts of women aboard ship: prostitutes; the wives of warrant officers; and women in male disguise serving as members of the crew. When ships were in port, women in skirts contributed to the atmosphere of pandemonium aboard ship, where the decks were filled with people "drinking, dancing and fornicating." At sea, women endured considerable hardship. Pregnancy was common, with childbirth often taking place in the heat of battle, just as surgical crews were preoccupied with tending the wounded. The "women seamen" who impersonated their male counterparts, meanwhile, lived in constant fear of being discovered, although unmasking rarely resulted in anything worse than being booted off the crew. Stark explores women's reasons for going to sea, and provides evidence that women have served ably in warfare?but that mingling of the sexes on board ship can bring chaos. This admirable study will garner attention both for its groundbreaking social history and for its contributions to both sides of the women-in-combat debate. Illustrations.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review
The presence of women on board the ships of the British Royal Navy in the "Age of Sail" has been disregarded by historians and ignored and even hidden by the navy. Suzanne Stark is the first to seriously address the issue of female "tars", and here she presents an in-depth study of the women who lived and worked on British warships of the 18th and early 19th centuries. Stark thoroughly investigates the custom of allowing prostitutes to live with the crews of warships in port. She provides some judicious answers to questions bout what led so many women to such an appalling fate, and why the Royal Navy unofficially condoned the practice. She also offers some revealing firsthand accounts of the wives of warrant officers and seamen who spent years at sea living (and fighting) beside their men without pay or even food rations, and of the women in male disguise who actually served as seamen or marines. These women's stories have long intrigued the public as the popularity of the often richly embellished accounts of their exploits has proved. Stark disentangles fact from myth and offers some well-founded explanations for such perplexing phenomena as the willingness of women to join the navy when most of the men had to be forced on board by press gangs. Female Tars is a lively history draws on primary sources and so gives an authentic view of life on board the ships of Britain's old sailing navy and the social context of the period that served to limit roles open to lower-class women. The final chapter is devoted to the autobiography of one redoubtable sea-going woman: Mary Lacy, who served as a seaman and shipwright in the Royal Navy for twelve years. Female Tars is absolutely fascinating reading, an original, absorbing, informative, exceptionally well researched and superlatively written book! -- Midwest Book Review

Product Details

• Hardcover: 205 pages
• Publisher: US Naval Institute Press (May 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1557507384
• ISBN-13: 978-1557507389
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.8 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,564,497 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Quite a nice little book, but you are left wanting for more, September 5, 1998

By	Patricia J. Sinel (Colorado) - See all my reviews

This book is quite a fascinating look at the roles women have played in the British Navy before this century. However, there does seem to be a lack of in-depth study of the women profiled. I found myself wanting to know much more than the author was willing to offer me. I felt too much time was taken re-iterating the social and economic standpoint of prostitutes in this era rather than focusing on the women's contributions to the Royal British Navy. I was mildly insulted when Ms. Stark suggested the reason these women were willing to be "transvestites," or dress as men to serve onboard naval vessels, was basically Freud's "penis envy" theory. This book did sharpen my appetite to find more books on the subject of Women in the Maritime Military.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Interesting Light on Women's History, January 10, 2005

By	Lisa J. Steele (Bolton, MA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This book would be well read in combination with Joan Druett's Hen Frigates: Wives of Merchant Captains Under Sail. Stark's book focuses on the lives of prostitutes in English port towns, on sailor's wives and widows ashore, and those who sailed with their husbands, and briefly on the experiences of women who sailed disguised as men.

The author does a good job of portraying the limited options available to English women during the Napoleonic era, and explains why women might find it necessary to engage in prostitution, follow their husbands to sea, or serve disguised as men. The author takes pain to debunk the then-popular myth of disguised women sailors searching for lost husbands or brothers.

The book was, in some respects, too brief a discussion of the topic. A more in-depth analysis would be welcome.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Female Tars: Women Aboard Ship in the Age of Sail, January 12, 2007

By	Brian F. Hair (Bundaberg, QLD Australia) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Opens your eyes to the status of women prior to the mid 20th century.