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Seafaring Women

Adventures of Pirate Queens, Female Stowaways, and Sailors' Wives

Adventures of Pirate Queens, Female Stowaways, and Sailors' Wives

By David Cordingly

By David Cordingly

By David Cordingly

By David Cordingly

By David Cordingly

By David Cordingly

Best Seller
Paperback $18.00

Mar 12, 2002 | ISBN 9780375758720

Ebook $12.99

Mar 25, 2009 | ISBN 9780307490599

Ebook $9.99

Apr 15, 2001 | ISBN 9780375506970

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    Seafaring Women by David Cordingly
    Paperback $18.00
    Mar 12, 2002 | ISBN 9780375758720

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    • Paperback $18.00

      Mar 12, 2002 | ISBN 9780375758720

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      Mar 25, 2009 | ISBN 9780307490599

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      Apr 15, 2001 | ISBN 9780375506970

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    About Seafaring Women

    For centuries, the sea has been regarded as a male domain, but in this illuminating historical narrative, maritime scholar David Cordingly shows that an astonishing number of women went to sea in the great age of sail. Some traveled as the wives or mistresses of captains; others were smuggled aboard by officers or seamen. And Cordingly has unearthed stories of a number of young women who dressed in men’s clothes and worked alongside sailors for months, sometimes years, without ever revealing their gender. His tremendous research shows that there was indeed a thriving female population—from pirates to the sirens of myth and
    legend—on and around the high seas. A landmark work of women’s history disguised as a spectacularly entertaining yarn, Women Sailors and Sailor’s Women will surprise and delight.

    About Seafaring Women

    For centuries, the sea has been regarded as a male domain, but in this illuminating historical narrative, maritime scholar David Cordingly shows that an astonishing number of women went to sea in the great age of sail. Some traveled as the wives or mistresses of captains; others were smuggled aboard by officers or seamen. And Cordingly has unearthed stories of a number of young women who dressed in men’s clothes and worked alongside sailors for months, sometimes years, without ever revealing their gender. His tremendous research shows that there was indeed a thriving female population—from pirates to the sirens of myth and
    legend—on and around the high seas. A landmark work of women’s history disguised as a spectacularly entertaining yarn, Women Sailors and Sailor’s Women will surprise and delight.

    About Seafaring Women

    For centuries the sea has been regarded as a male domain. Fisherman, navy officers, pirates, and explorers roamed the high seas while their wives and daughters stayed on shore. Oceangoing adventurers and the crews of their ships were part of an all-male world — or were they?

    In this illuminating historical narrative, maritime scholar David Cordingly shows that in fact an astonishing number of women went to sea in the great age of sail. Some traveled as the wives or mistresses of captains. A few were smuggled aboard by officers or seaman. A number of cases have come to light of young women dressing in men’s clothes and working alongside the sailors for months, and sometimes years. In the U.S. and Britsh navies, it was not uncommon for the wives of bosuns, carpenters, and cooks to go to sea on warships. Cordingly’s tremendous research shows that there was indeed a thriving female population — from female pirates to the sirens of legend — on and around the high seas. A landmark work of women’s history disguised as a spectacularly entertaining yarn, Women’s Sailors and Sailor’s Women will surprise and delight readers.

    Read An Excerpt

    Read An Excerpt

    Read An Excerpt

    Also by David Cordingly

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    See all books by David Cordingly

    Also by David Cordingly

    Pirate Hunter of the Caribbean
    Under the Black Flag
    See all books by David Cordingly

    About David Cordingly

    David Cordingly was for 12 years on the staff of the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich, England, where he was curator of paintings and then head of exhibitions. He is a graduate of Oxford and the renowned author of the… More about David Cordingly

    About David Cordingly

    David Cordingly was for 12 years on the staff of the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich, England, where he was curator of paintings and then head of exhibitions. He is a graduate of Oxford and the renowned author of the… More about David Cordingly

    About David Cordingly

    David Cordingly was for 12 years on the staff of the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich, England, where he was curator of paintings and then head of exhibitions. He is a graduate of Oxford and the renowned author of the… More about David Cordingly

    Product Details

    Category: History | Biography & Memoir

    Paperback | $18.00
    Published by Random House Trade Paperbacks
    Mar 12, 2002 | 320 Pages | 5-3/16 x 8 | ISBN 9780375758720

    Category: History | Biography & Memoir

    Ebook | $12.99
    Published by Random House
    Mar 25, 2009 | 320 Pages | ISBN 9780307490599

    Category: History | Biography & Memoir

    Ebook | $9.99
    Published by Random House
    Apr 15, 2001 | 304 Pages | ISBN 9780375506970
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    Praise

    “This is a book to inform, stimulate, and amuse—an irresistible diversion.”
    —Baltimore Sun

    One of the best books of 2001*

    “A valuable addition to nautical literature and a useful contribution to the study of women’s history….[Cordingly’s] book leaves no doubt that women have played a far larger role in the nautical life than is commonly understood.”
    —Jonathan Yardley, The Washington Post*

    “Cordingly transcends the ideological limits of gender history and brings a world to life.”
    —The Wall Street Journal

    “Revisionism at its most delightful. With no particular gospel to preach, Cordingly works his way through layer after layer of overlooked and unconnected written records, finding evidence of women almost everywhere.”
    —Houston Chronicle

    “Cordingly brings a wide range of research together in one expansive volume.”
    —Boston Herald

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