Pirate Queens: The Lives of Anne Bonny & Mary Read

Anne Bonny and Mary Read were two female pirates who terrorized the Caribbean in and around Jamaica in August and October 1720. Despite their short career, they became two of the most notorious pirates during the eighteenth-century Golden Age of Piracy. Their biographies were recorded in Captain Charles Johnson's 1724 book, A General History of the Pyrates, but how much is fact versus fiction? This first full-length biography explores their intriguing backgrounds while examining the social context of women in their lifetime and their legacy in popular culture.

Format: Hardback
Length: 256 pages
Publication date: 30 April 2022
Publisher: Pen & Sword Books Ltd

Anne Bonny and Mary Read, two female pirates who terrorized the Caribbean in and around Jamaica during August and October 1720, left a lasting impact on the world of piracy. Despite their short career, they became two of the most notorious pirates during the eighteenth-century Golden Age of Piracy. Their bravery, cruelty, and unwavering determination to escape the social constraints placed on women during that time made them infamous. However, their biographies were recorded in Captain Charles Johnson's 1724 book, A General History of the Pyrates, which depicted them as illegitimate women raised by men who crossed paths in Nassau and became pirates together. The book explores their intriguing backgrounds while examining the social context of women in their lifetime and their legacy in popular culture that exists to the present day. Using A General History of the Pyrates, early modern legal documents relating to women, their recorded public trial in The Tryal of Jack Rackham and Other Pyrates, newspapers, and new, uncovered research, the book unravels the mysteries and legends surrounding their lives.

Dimension: 234 x 156 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781526791306