The Pirate Queen : In Search of Grace O'Malley and Other Legendary Women of the Sea

The Pirate Queen begins in Ireland with the notorious Grace O’Malley, a scourge to the most powerful fleets of sixteenth-century Europe. This Irish clan chieftain and pirate queen was a contemporary of Elizabeth I, and a figure whose life is the stuff of myth. Regularly raiding English ships caught off Ireland’s west coast, O’Malley purportedly fought off fierce 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 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, Sjoholm brings some of these extraordinary stories back to life, taking the reader on an unforgettable journey from the wild Irish coast to the haunting Scandinavian fjords in this meticulously researched, colorfully written, and truly original work. Illustrations and maps add to these intriguing swashbuckling tales.

veteran Seafarers And Anyone Who Has Dreamed Of Running Away To Sea In Her Very Own Boat Or Simply Savored The Smell Of The Salty Air On The Water’s Edge Will Be Inspired By This Well-crafted And Varied Collection. Steady As She Goes Is Both A Testament To Women’s Enduring Relationship With The Sea And A Gripping And Illuminating Read. Whether Commercial Fishing In Alaska’s Unforgiving Waters, Racing Tall Ships Off The Coast Of Australia, Kayaking In The Enchanting Sea Of Cortez, Or Learning The Antiquated Mechanics Of A New York City Fireboat, These Women Work And Play At Sea, Spinning Harrowing Adventure Yarns And Relaying Quiet Moments Of Revelation Surrounded By The Vastness Of The Ocean. With Both Original And Reprinted Material From Such Noted Writers As Linda Greenlaw, Jill Fredston, Tania Aebi, Bernadette Bernon (former Editor Of Cruising World ), Devorah Major (san Francisco’s Poet Laureate), Andromeda Romano-lax, And Deborah Scaling Kiley, Among Others, This Is The First Anthology Dedicated To Contemporary Women's Adventures At Sea. This Unique And Long-overdue Collection Shatters—once And For All—the Myth That The Sea Is Solely The Domain Of Men.

publishers Weekly

this Collection Of Salty Yarns By And About Women Who Sail Calls Itself The First Of Its Kind. Most Of Its Stories, Like Deborah Scaling Kiley And Meg Noonan's Gripping Survival At Sea And Penelope S. Duffy's Big Storm, Small Boat, Are Adventure Tales Set On The Ocean At Its Angriest And Most Dangerous. Other Selections Give A Fascinating Glimpse Of The Women Who Make Their Living On Boats. Linda Greenlaw (the Lobster Chronicles) Writes About The Daily Rituals Aboard The Hannah Boden In Her Fishing Story, Swordfish. Like The Other Authors Represented Here, Greenlaw Writes As Though She Sees Herself As A Captain First, A Woman Second. She's At Ease With Her Place Of Authority In A World Dominated By Burly Men, And Her Minority Status Shows Only In Passing, With, Fishing Gear Manufacturers Don't Make Gloves Small Enough For Women, So I Use Ladies' Gardening Gloves. Other Highpoints Include Jessica Dulong's Stylish Below Decks, Tracing Her Lifelong Enthrallment With Mechanical Doodads, From Her Father's Auto Shop To The Diesel-powered John J. Harvey, A Retired Fireboat On Which She's A Crew Member Plying The Hudson River, And Jennifer Karuza Schile's Story Of Her Fishing Family, Happy Jack And The Vis Queens. Not All Selections Are As Strong As These, And Some Are Fairly Amateurish. Still, The Anthology Should Find A Readership Among The Many Fans Of Maritime Nonfiction. (oct.) Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.

The idea of a journey without companions is too daunting for most travelers. Not so the women of this collection. These contemporary pioneers savor the ultimate freedom of solo travel. Marybeth Bond discovers the dubious pleasures of desert camel-riding when she decides to follow an ancient Indian trading route. Faith Adiele, a black Buddhist nun, enters a deserted train station at 3:00 a.m. in a Thai village controlled by armed bandits. Ena Singh negotiates with Russian police to visit the blue-domed city of Samarkand. In A Woman Alone, these women and others tell their funny, thrilling, occasionally terrifying, ultimately transformative stories of navigating some of the most unusual destinations on the globe.

Library Journal

These two new collections of entertaining travel essays focus on female travelers. The Unsavvy Traveller includes hilarious stories of trips gone horribly wrong, while A Woman Alone contains stories of intrepid women traveling solo. The first is the more unusual of the two, vividly describing experiences that are both horrendous and humorous, including getting lost in the jungle, being chased by a bear, and being questioned by the police on the suspicion of taking photos of a nude man sunbathing. Contributors include Caryn Bark, Lucy Jane Bledsoe, and Novella Carpenter. Many of the stories in A Woman Alone are about women of various backgrounds (e.g., veteran travel writer Mary Morris and Faith Adiele, a Buddhist nun) connecting with others while traveling alone. In the Ladies' Compartment, for example, describes one woman's experience traveling by train in India. Her previously established connection to other women on the train aids her when the guard thinks she is a man and threatens to throw her off the train. Other adventures include driving in a snowstorm alone, going on a religious pilgrimage in Mexico, and befriending women in Senegal. While many of the tales are unique, the theme itself is not, and there are already quite a few books in print that cover similar ground more thoroughly. For example, Susan F. Rogers's Solo: On Her Own Adventure (LJ 5/01/96) not only offers a more consistent treatment of the same theme but also addresses more immediate concerns of women traveling alone in the outdoors. Nevertheless, with the increasing popularity of travel essays, public libraries may wish to purchase both of these volumes, depending on their patrons' interests. Those with limited funds should opt for The Unsavvy Traveller. Alison Hopkins, Queens Borough P.L., New York Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.

The Pirate Queen begins in Ireland with the infamous Grace O'Malley, a ruthless pirate and scourge to the most powerful fleets of sixteenth-century Europe. This Irish clan chieftain, sea captain, 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 the Spanish armada just hours after giving birth to her son. She had several husbands in her lifetime, and acquired lands and castles that still dot the Irish coastline today. But Grace O'Malley was not alone. Since ancient times, women have rowed and sailed, commanded and fished, built boats and owned fleets. As pirate, captain's wives, lighthouse keepers and sailors in disguise they've explored coastlines and set off alone across unknown seas. Yet their incredible contributions have been nearly erased from the history books. In The Pirate Queen, Barbara Sjoholm brings some of these extraordinary women back to life, taking the reader on an unforgettable journey from the wild Irish coast to the haunting Scandinavian fjords in this meticulously researched, colorfully written, and truly original work

at The Age Of Twenty-five, Leila Hadley, Bored With Her New York Pr Job, Buys Two Tickets Aboard A Cargo Ship Headed For Hong Kong: One For Herself And One For Her Six-year-old Son Kippy. This Decision Sets Her Life On An Entirely New Course. After Manila, Hong Kong, And Bangkok, Their Travels Take An Unexpected Turn: She Meets Four Young Men Sailing Their Boat Around The World, And Convinces Them To Let Her And Kippy Join Them. Seal Is Thrilled To Release The Paperback Edition Of This Lush And Richly Evocative Travel Narrative, First Published In 1958, In Which Hadley Offers Sensuous Descriptions Of The Places She Visits, As Well As Lively Accounts Of The People And Traditions. It’s Not Only The Luminous Vitality Of Her Prose That Makes This Travelogue Such A Pleasure To Read But Also The Courage Of Her Decision To Toss Expectations To The Wind And Embrace All The Adventures The World Has To Offer. Give Me The World Is The Gold Standard By Which All Travel Memoirs Are Judged—it Endures As An Inspiration To The Adventurer That Lurks Within Us All.

This Exhilarating Collection explores the many ways women find fulfillment, solace, and joy when they head into the great outdoors alone. While many women dream of solo adventure, these women show how it's done. Whether hiking in Nepal, climbing Half Dome in Yosemite, sailing with sharks off Cape Cod, huddling for the night in a snow cave after a skiing accident, or camping solo to prove to themselves that they're "tough," the women in this collection eloquently convey not only the thrills of the solo adventure, but also examine the complicated motivations and fears that can accompany such journeys. With its thoughtful exploration of numerous themes -- trust and intuition, danger and invincibility, challenge and reward -- and its celebration of adventure, this collection is sure to provide ample inspiration for those contemplating their own forays into the wild At the age of twenty-five, Leila Hadley, bored with her New York PR job, buys two tickets aboard a cargo ship headed for Hong one for herself, and one for her six-year-old son Kippy. This decision sets her life on an entirely new course. After Manila, Hong Kong and Bangkok, their travels take an unexpected she meets four young men sailing their boat around the world, and convinces them to let her and Kippy join them. Filled with sensual descriptions of the places she visits, lively accounts of the people and traditions, and intriguing characters, it is not only the luminous vitality of her prose that make this travelogue such a pleasure to read, but the courage of her decision to toss expectations to the wind and embrace all the adventures the world has to offer-an inspiration to the adventurer that lurks within us all. Veteran seafarers and anyone who has dreamed of running away to sea in their very own boat or simply savored the smell of the salty air on the waters edge will be inspired by this well-crafted and varied collection. Steady as She Goes is both a testament to womens enduring relationship with the sea and a gripping and illuminating read. Whether commercial fishing in Alaskas unforgiving waters, racing tall ships off the coast of Australia, kayaking in the enchanting Sea of Cortez, or learning the antiquated mechanics of a New York City fireboat, these women work and play at sea, spinning harrowing adventure yarns and relaying quiet moments of revelation surrounded by the vastness of the ocean. This unique and long-overdue collection shatters once and for all the myth that the sea is solely the domain of men. The idea of a journey without companions is too daunting for most travelers. Not so for the women of this collection. These contemporary pioneers savor the ultimate freedom of solo travel. Marybeth Bond discovers the dubious pleasures of desert camel-riding when she decides to follow an ancient Indian trading route. Faith Adiele, a black Buddhist nun, enters a deserted train station at 3:00 a.m. in a Thai village controlled by armed bandits. Ena Singh negotiates with Russian police to visit the blue-domed city of Samarkand. In A Woman Alone , these women and others tell their funny, thrilling, occasionally terrifying, ultimately transformative stories of navigating some of the most unusual destinations on the globe. "Leila Hadley, twenty-five years old, divorced, restless and bored with her successful New York career, sets off for the Far East with her six-year-old son, Kippy, for an adventure that would last a lifetime. To Manila and Hong Kong, Siam and Singapore, India and Damascus, and on around the world on a sailboat named California. Considered a classic among travel memoirs, Give Me the World is part commentary on the beauty and culture of the Far East, and part exploration of the human spirit. Told with a remarkable sense of emotion and observation, this is a moving and evocative record of a mother and son's voyage, and a breathless portrait of what meets the eye, heart, and soul of the traveler."--BOOK JACKET. Big storm, small boat / Penelope S. Duffy Maiden voyage / Devorah Major Fourteen / Ginni Callahan Happy Jack and the Vis queens / Jennifer Karuza Schile Mediterranean mooring / Tania Aebi Boat knowing / Dawn Paul Midterm reflections from a semester at sea / Bernadette Bernon In harbor / Dodo Danzmann Survival at sea / Deborah Scaling Kiley and Meg Noonan The color blue / Holly Hughes Shakedown / Moe Bowstern Swordfish / Linda Greenlaw Crossings / Sue Muller Hacking Sailing with Steinbeck / Andromeda Romano-Lax Captain Lou / Pamela Powell Rowing to latitude / Jill Freston Evergreen / Melinda Tognini Below decks / Jessica DuLong Capes of hope / Kaci Cronkhite Whale watching me / Jennifer Hahn.

Emily Hahn was a woman ahead of her time, graced with a sense of adventure and a gift for living. Born in St. Louis in 1905, she crashed the all-male precincts of the University of Wisconsin geology department as an undergraduate, traveled alone to the Belgian Congo at age 25, was the concubine of a Chinese poet in Shanghai, bore the child of the head of the British Secret Service before World War II, and finally returned to New York to live and write in Greenwich Village. In this memoir, first published as essays in The New Yorker, Hahn writes vividly and amusingly about the people and places she came to know and love -- with an eye for the curious and a heart for the exotic.

While many dream of solo adventure, these talented and adventurous women show how its done. Whether hiking in Nepal, caving, sailing through choppy ocean waters, or discovering Alaska on foot, the women in these essays eloquently convey not only the thrills of the solo adventure, but also examine the complicated motivations and fears that can accompany such journeys. With its thoughtful exploration of numerous themestrust and intuition, danger and invincibility, challenges and rewardsand its celebration of adventure, Going Alone explores the many ways that women find fulfillment, and is sure to provide ample inspiration for those contemplating their own forays into the wild.

This is a biography and astonishing adventure story of a woman who, left a widow in 1927, packed her five children onto a 25-foot boat and cruised the coastal waters of British Columbia, summer after summer.Muriel Wylie Blanchet acted single-handedly as skipper, navigator, engineer and, of course, mum, as she saw her crew through encounters with tides, fog, storms, rapids, cougars and bears. She sharpened in her children a special interest in Haida culture and in nature itself. In this book, she left us with a sensitive and compelling account of their journeys.

Table of Contents; List of Illustrations ; Introduction: Crossing Clew Bay ; I. Grace O'Malley's Castle: Clare Island, Ireland ; II. The Pirate Queen: Clew Bay, Ireland ; III. At the Edge of the Sea Cauldron: From Oban to the Pentland Firth; IV. Raising the Wind: Kirkwall, the Orkney Islands; V. Herring Lassies: Stronsay, the Orkney Islands; VI. A Man's World: Stromness, the Orkney Islands; VII. Enchantment: From the Orkney Islands to the Shetland Islands; VIII. The Lonely Voyage of Betty Mouat: Sumburgh Head, the Shetland Islands Co-founder of Seal Press, Barbara Sjoholm has spent most of her life in the literary arts, as a writer, editor, translator, teacher, and publisher. She is the author of Blue Windows: A Christian Science Childhood, , Incognito Street, , and The Pirate Queen , and editor of the anthology Steady as She Goes: Women's Adventures at Sea. Barbara's personal and travel essays have appeared in the Harvard Review, the American Scholar, and the Antioch Review, as well as the New York Times, Slate, and Smithsonian -- A collection of comic and cathartic tales from more than 25 women travelersA soggy bicyclist takes shelter in an Irish pub, only to become the evening's inebriated musical entertainment. A staunch hiker battles a bear with a bag of M&Ms. A flustered tourist tries to figure out Japan's curious bathroom etiquette. These stories and the others in this volume embody the spirit of the intrepid adventurer. A compendium of a young widow's summer travels among the islands and fjords of British Columbia with her five small children. The family lived and travelled on a small motor launch getting to know that remarkable coast and it's cast of characters starting in 1927. Her enchanting account has become a treasured local classic in B.C. "The Unsavvy Traveler" is a collection of the comic and cathartic tales of more than 25 women travelers. These women are hilarious casualties of tourism, whether they're breezy, independent trekkers who discover the necessity of preparation far too late or impeccable travelers suddenly beset by the mischievous whims of destiny. ON BOARD OUR BOAT ONE SUMMER WE HAD A BOOK BY Maurice Maeterlinck called The Fourth Dimension, the fourth dimension being Time- which, according to Dunne, doesn't exist in itself, but is always relative to the person who has the idea of Time. Emily Hahn, staff writer for "The New Yorker" for more than 70 years, writes vividly and amusingly about the people and places she came to know and love, with an eye for the curious and a heart for the exotic Women travellers recount how they began expeditions with the highest dreams, and encountered such surprises as angry bears, exploding toilets, malaria, and other humoroous calamities