She Captains Heroines and Hellions of the Sea

Long before women had the right to vote, earn money, or have lives of their own, "she captains" -- bold women distinguished for courageous enterprise on the high seas -- thrilled and terrorized their shipmates, performed acts of valor, and pirated with the best of their male counterparts. From the warrior queens of the sixth century b.c. to the female shipowners influential in opening the Northwest Passage,She Captainsbrings together a real-life cast of characters whose audacity and bravado will capture the imagination. In her inimitable style, Joan Druett paints a vivid portrait of real women who were drawn to the ocean's beauty -- and danger -- and dared to captain ships of their own.

Joan Druett has won many prizes, including a PEN award for her first book, Exotic Intruders, the 1992 John Lyman Award for Best Book of American Maritime History for "She Was a Sister Sailor," the New York Public Library's Best Book to Remember citation for Hen Frigates, and, most recently, The Kendall Whaling Museum's 1999 L. Byrne Waterman Award in recognition of outstanding contributions to research and pedagogy in the arts, humanities, and sciences. She lives in New Zealand.