Booty: Girl Pirates on the High Seas - Softcover

Lorimer, Sara

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0811832376 ISBN 13: 9780811832373

Publisher: Chronicle Books, 2002

Synopsis

A treasure trove of high adventure and bad behavior, Booty tells the all-true tales of real women pirates who prowled the seas from the 9th to early-20th centuries in search of easy prey and easy profit. Raiding ships, boozing, brawling, and looting, they struck terror in the hearts of men from the Mediterranean to the South China Sea to the rivers of New York. Meet Rachel Wall, who traded her devout religious upbringing for "lewd and wicked company"; Cheng I Sao, who led a fleet of 2,000 ships and made her men drink cocktails of wine and gunpowder; Mary Read, who killed one pirate for the love of another; and Sadie the Goat, who headbutted her victims before fleecing them of cash. Their exploits and those of many more swashbuckling women fill these pages, along with salty illustrations and an informative look at the finer points of pirate life (grog, flogging, fashion, and more). Arrrrr.

About this title

About the Author

Sara Lorimer's travels have taken her to regions ranging from Fiji to the Arctic Circle. She now lives in New York City.

Susan Synarski's illustrations have appeared in Rolling Stone, The New Yorker, the Boston Globe, and other periodicals, and are featured in Rolling Stone: The Illustrated Portraits (also by Chronicle Books). She lives in Oakland, California.

Reviews

Adult/High School-Brief but colorful accounts of 12 women who terrorized sailors in waters throughout the world, from the ninth century to the 1930s. Subjects range from Alfhild, a Viking who roamed the Baltic and North Seas, to Lai Choi San of Macao, who was probably the original "Dragon Lady." Americans include Mary Read and Anne Bonny. Through these fascinating misfits, readers get a close-up view of many cultures and times, and each life is made vivid and memorable. Synarski's bold, quirky, color illustrations and a variety of eye-catching typefaces create the amusing impression of a demented picture book. One chapter includes a glossary and explains pirate arcana. Unfortunately, the sketchy bibliography doesn't offer much practical guidance to students: many of the books listed would not be easily found, and some of these tales are more folklore than history in any case. Pirates are not usually considered to be positive role models, and Lorimer's matey gusto and humorous slant might raise hackles in some quarters; but while her enthusiasm for her subject is contagious, the author does not gloss over the cruelties inflicted, and hardships endured, by these women. Booty offers some fresh perspectives on the past, and it should attract graphic-novel fans as well as the most reluctant of readers.
Christine C. Menefee, Fairfax County Public Library, VA
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Edition details

• Publisher: Chronicle Books
• Publication date: 2002
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0811832376
• ISBN 13: 9780811832373
• Binding: Paperback
• Illustrator: Synarski Susan
• Number of pages: 112