Strong women have existed throughout history.
Some of them have existed as men.
Infamous 18th-century pirate Mary Read tells of her previous life as a soldier and wife in this powerful novel by the award-winning author of The Marlowe Papers.
“We are the Tadpole Kings of Guzzle Down, Rat Masters of the Pantry, Grand Under-Tablers of the Blue Anchor.”
Mary and her brother Mark are worried about their mother. They’re eight and nine, and they are preparing for murder. It doesn’t go to plan.
When Mark vanishes, and their mother’s survival demands it, Mary steps into his breeches, his name, and his life. A girl who wants to stay free must look like a boy. A boy, it turns out, can go anywhere.
From the docks of Plymouth to the battlefields of Flanders to the pirate republic of Nassau, Mary Read moves through a man’s world on borrowed identity — soldier, sailor, outlaw — guarding her secret at knife-point. The closer anyone gets, the more it costs her. And the noose doesn’t care what you’re wearing.
In a world built to break women, Mary Read steals the life she wants. The question is whether she can keep it.
Contents
Port Royal, Jamaica. 18 November 1720.
BOOK 1.
Broxholme, Devon. 1696-97.
