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A review by emilieanderson
Pirate Queens: The Lives of Anne Bonny & Mary Read by Rebecca Alexandra Simon
3.0
I received a free eARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.
I did enjoy reading this book, but it feels unpolished. The subject matter is fascinating - women pirates and their lives - but most of it is speculative. The writing style was basic and often repetitive; sometimes it seemed as though the author was trying to reach a word count quota. However, the stories of Anne Bonny and Mary Read are compelling, even if they are partially made up. Mary Read's story in particular was fascinating, as she spent much of her life disguised as a man and went through a lot on her way to becoming a pirate.
Overall I don't think this book was ready for publication, but with more work and better editing, I can see Rebecca Alexandra Simon coming out with some really wonderful narrative nonfiction in the future.
I did enjoy reading this book, but it feels unpolished. The subject matter is fascinating - women pirates and their lives - but most of it is speculative. The writing style was basic and often repetitive; sometimes it seemed as though the author was trying to reach a word count quota. However, the stories of Anne Bonny and Mary Read are compelling, even if they are partially made up. Mary Read's story in particular was fascinating, as she spent much of her life disguised as a man and went through a lot on her way to becoming a pirate.
Overall I don't think this book was ready for publication, but with more work and better editing, I can see Rebecca Alexandra Simon coming out with some really wonderful narrative nonfiction in the future.