NEW
THE PIRATE QUEEN: IN SEARCH OF GRACE O'MALLEY AND OTHER LEGENDARY WOMEN OF THE SEA
A fascinating account of one of history's most engaging seafaring women, along with tales of cross-dressing sailors, medieval explorers, storm witches and sea goddesses.
The Pirate Queen begins in Ireland with the notorious Grace O'Malley, scourge to the most powerful fleets of sixteenth-century Europe. This Irish clan chieftain and pirate queen was a contemporary of Elizabeth I, a figure whose life is the stuff of myth. Regularly raiding English ships caught off Ireland's west coast, O'Malley was purported to have fought off Algerian pirates just hours after giving birth to her son. She commanded two hundred men (and a couple of husbands), and acquired lands and castles that still dot the Irish coastline today.
But Grace O'Malley was not alone, especially in the waters of the North Atlantic where author Barbara Sjoholm traveled through coastal communities and seafaring ports to collect these little-known stories. Since ancient times, women have rowed and sailed, commanded and fished, built boats and owned fleets. Yet their incredible contributions have been nearly erased from the history books, as have the myths of seal women, Finn wives and storm witches. In The Pirate Queen, Barbara Sjoholm brings some of these extraordinary stories back to life, taking the reader on an unforgettable journey from the wild Irish coast through the lonely islands of Shetland and the Faroes to the haunting fjords of Iceland and Norway, in this meticulously researched, colorfully written, and truly original work.
Published by Seal Press, June 2004
Trade Paper, $15.95. ISBN: 1-58005-109-X
352 pages, with illustrations and maps
Visit the web site at www.piratequeen.org
RECENTLY PUBLISHED: Steady As She Goes: Women's Adventures At Sea
NEW: "The Pirate Queen: In Search Of Grace O'Malley And Other Legendary Women Of The Sea"
Copyright © 2002 by Barbara Sjoholm