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A review by emmsbookshelf
Pirate Queens: The Lives of Anne Bonny & Mary Read by Rebecca Alexandra Simon
adventurous
informative
4.0
This book was a thoroughly interesting read, it combined many of my favourite genres and themes in books; History and female experiences. Add in the fact that the Pirates of the Caribbean movies were released in my early teens (and I was obsessed) and I was instantly sold on this title. From the opening chapters of this book, it gives historical context to the nature of female pirates, from the ancient world, through to our books personalities of focus; Anne and Mary (Though it would have been nice to have a brief nod to another incredibly successful female pirate Ching Shih). From these beginning chapters, the audience is firmly engaged in the subject matter, without assumed prior knowledge and without patronising overtones. It also takes care to acknowledge the primary sources used to inform the biographies in the book, following the conventions of a historical text and the issues of accuracy and reliability evident in these sources. The author is very clear and upfront about how they have had to speculate and hypothesise to fill some of the gaps in the historical narrative in order to present a clear and coherent set of biographies.
The text is written in an engaging format which weaves facts into an engaging account, instead of a dry series of dates and facts. It was formatted in a user friendly manner with chapters of a decent size that were not overly intimidating (as some history and non-fiction books can be). My only criticism of this book is that at times it could be a bit repetitive.
Overall, this was an informative and interesting read that I recommend to anyone with an interest in piracy in the 18th Century, or the experiences of women in History. Thanks NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book!
The text is written in an engaging format which weaves facts into an engaging account, instead of a dry series of dates and facts. It was formatted in a user friendly manner with chapters of a decent size that were not overly intimidating (as some history and non-fiction books can be). My only criticism of this book is that at times it could be a bit repetitive.
Overall, this was an informative and interesting read that I recommend to anyone with an interest in piracy in the 18th Century, or the experiences of women in History. Thanks NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book!