She Captains: Heroines and Hellions of the Sea

by Joan Druett

Book Overview

Long before women had the right to vote, earn money, or have lives of their own, "she captains" -- bold women distinguished for courageous enterprise on the high seas -- thrilled and terrorized their shipmates, performed acts of valor, and pirated with the best of their male counterparts. From the warrior queens of the sixth century b.c. to the female shipowners influential in opening the Northwest Passage, She Captains brings together a real-life...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0684856913
• ISBN13: 9780684856919
• Release Date: March 2001
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster
• Length: 304 Pages
• Weight: 0.80 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.5" x 8.7"

Customer Reviews

Women at Sea

"She Captains" is a historical survey of women who have sailed, rescued sailors, or had significant influence on sailing endeavors. Episodes range from Queen Artemisia who contributed 5 ships to battle Xerxes at Salamis in 480 BC to Beatie Fry's running a training ship for future sailors until her death in 1946. Author Joan Druett presents women sea warriors Atwilda "the Danish Female Pirate" and the Danish raider Alfhild who "exchanged woman's for man's attire, and, no longer the most modest of maidens, began the life of a warlike rover." Included are Mary Read who went to sea dressed as a man and with Anne Bonny had a successful pirate career until her capture in 1720. Druett tells of women went to sea dressed as men out of economic necessity such as Elizabeth Stephens and some to accompany lovers like Jeanne Bare, probably the first woman to complete a world circumnavigation in 1769. The book provides opens doors into a fascinating aspect of nautical history and includes comprehensive source information on each chapter. Illustrations by Ron Druett throughout add to visualization of the adventures of sea-fairing women.

Sea Legs or She Legs

In general this is a collection of stories of women associated with seafaring. Not all were 'captains', but that's not really material to the focus of the book, which is to provide the reader with ample examples of women who worked in the maritime trade (in one way or another).The topics range from royalty and psuedo-royalty, to pirates, to wives. For the most part the women are of strong character and know what they want. Druett, writes well and the stories are entertaining and well researched.

Queens of the High Seas

People may think that the womens' movement began in the 1960s or '70s, but the ladies whose stories are told in this book prove that female empowerment was alive and kicking on-board clipper ships and at the helm of pirate cutters long before Gloria Steinem was a gleam in her mother's eye. This book tells the stories of numerous fascinating female buccaneers who could be just as ruthless as their male counterparts and hold sway over crews of male sailors. Even if you're familiar with Anne Bonny and Mary Read, you will learn about many of their lesser-known compatriots and their world. This is an intriguing study of women in a career that has been generally relegated to the male realm in popular thought.