South Street Seaport Museum Presents Book Talks: 'Pirate Women'

The South Street Seaport Museum presents Book Talks: Pirate Women: The Princesses, Prostitutes, and Privateers Who Ruled the Seven Seas on Thursday, March 8, 2018 at 6:30pm at the Melville Gallery, 213 Water Street, NYC. Tickets are $10 (free for members), and available at https://southstreetseaportmuseum.org/book-talks-at-the-seaport-museum/. Doors open at 6:15pm. Reception to follow.

Join the Seaport Museum as author Laura Sook Duncombe discusses her book Pirate Women: The Princesses, Prostitutes, and Privateers Who Ruled the Seven Seas. Duncombe explores the lives of women that lived as pirates, even including from the seaport at South Street. Women cast off tradition and took to the sea for many reasons: money, adventure, freedom, love, revenge. This first-ever comprehensive survey shares the stories of women, both real and legendary, that history has largely ignored.

"Thoroughly researched and enthrallingly written. Duncombe shows love and mastery of the subject in equal measure." -Jason Porath, author of Rejected Princesses: Tales of History's Boldest Heroines, Hellions, and Heretics

For as long as there has been a sea to sail upon, there have been pirates. But what is really known about pirates, beyond peg legs, parrots, eye patches and Captain Hook? Most of the popular images of pirates come from the Golden Age, a small segment of piratical history which spanned from the 1650s to the 1730s in the Caribbean. But pirates have originated around the world, in every century, in every color, age, and creed imaginable. And-surprise!-women pirates have fought alongside men since ancient times, despite the belief in many cultures that women at sea were bad luck. In some cases, the female pirates even commanded the men.

Pirate Women explores why and how these stories are told and passed down-and how history changes depending on who is recording it. It's perfect for pirate fans, feminists, maritime scholars and anyone who wants to learn about fascinating women largely lost to history.

Laura Sook Duncombe is a lawyer and a writer whose work on women pirates has appeared on Jezebel. She lives in Alexandria, Virginia.

The South Street Seaport Museum, located in the heart of the historic Seaport district in New York City, preserves and interprets the history of New York as a great port city. Designated by Congress as America's National Maritime Museum, the Museum houses exhibition galleries and education spaces, working nineteenth century print shops, and an active fleet of historic vessels that all work to tell the story of "Where New York Begins."