The Crow Bar

This is the eighth installment in a series of book recommendations, all of which will introduce you to kickass women from mythologies and folklore around the world, all of them written by women.

This one was prompted by @micamicster asking me this question, and I immediately felt ashamed I hadn’t done a rec of lady pirates before, so here we all are. This is gonna be a varied bunch of works, so in order to not let it get completely out of control, I set myself the following parameters:

• The book is written by a woman
• A woman is the protagonist
• This woman lives on a ship and goes on adventures
• Romance is strictly not the main plot*

I know this is incredibly vague, but that is mainly because I want to include a lot of books because this vibe speaks to me on a personal level. So yeah, sorry for this being as long as it is. I’m also considering doing a personal rec where I highlight a few books and wax enthusiastic over them, so lemme know if that’s something you’d be into.

*I added this requirement mainly so the list won’t be overwhelmed by Harlequin-style novels. While I have nothing against them – I certainly enjoy them myself – I’m more looking for stories where the spotlight is on these women kicking ass (see: the title of this list). I did accept novels where romance is included as a subplot. Also note: stories with romance as the main plot may still slip through, as I’m basing these picks mainly off the summaries on Goodreads. Additionally, the ordering of these books is also mostly based on the information made available on Goodreads, so if you think a book doesn’t fit on this list or appears under the wrong header, do let me know!

If you’re looking for diversity, I decided to help you out with this rec list, because it appears the genre seems rather adamant about promoting diversity and im all about supporting that SO:
* indicates that a main character is a wlw
^† indicates that a main character is a poc – note that I only use this indication when the character’s race is specifically mentioned in the description, or if the character is specifically described as hailing from a region that’s historically home to people of color, or if there’s a poc on the book cover. Obviously this can lead to inaccuracies and leaving books out, so do let me know if you spot a mistake.

Caribbean setting

• Pirates!, by Celia Rees^†
• Steel, by Carrie Vaughn
• The Sea Captain And The Lady, by Vada Foster*
• Witch From The Sea, by Lisa Jensen^†
• Branded Ann, by Merry Shannon*
• A Pirate’s Heart, by Catherine Friend*
• The Sublime And Spirited Voyage Of Original Sin, by Colette Moody*
• Ill Wind, A Caribbean Pirate Adventure, by K.A. Perkins (part 1 of the Valkyrie series)^†
• The House Of The Four Winds, by Mercedes Lackey
• The Pirate Captain’s Daughter | Voyage Of The Sea Wolf, by Eve Bunting
• Demons & Pearls, by P.S. Bartlett (part 1 of the Razor’s Adventures series)

European setting

• Frenchman’s Creek, by Daphne du Maurier
• Pirate Queen, by Morgan Llywelyn

Contemporary setting

• The Dust Of 100 Dogs, by A.S. King
• Adrift, by Dominica Malcolm*

The Seven Seas (i.e. indeterminate setting and / or multiple settings)

• Daughter Of The Pirate King, by Tricia Levenseller
• Open Waters, by Valerie Mores*
• Taming The Wolff, by Del Robertson*
• The Pirate’s Booty | Shiver Her Timbers | Fire In The Hole, by Alex Westmore*
• Revenge Of The Parson’s Daughter, Or The Lass That Loved A Pirate, by Jo Victor*
• Peculiar Passions, Or The Treasure Of Mermaid Island, by Ruby Vise*
• Piratica: Being A Daring Tale Of A Singular Girl’s Adventure Upon The High Seas, by Tanith Lee (part 1 of the Piratica series)
• Magic Marks The Spot, by Caroline Carlson (part 1 of the Very Nearly Honorable League Of Pirates series)

Science fiction & fantasy

• The Abyss Surrounds Us, by Emily Skrutskie*^†
• The Drowning Eyes, by Emily Foster*^†
• Mad Kestrel, by Misty Massey
• Water Witch: The Deceiver’s Grave, by Nene Adams*
• The Sea Hawk, by Brenda Adcock*
• The Pirate Vortex, by Deborah Cannon (part 1 of the Elizabeth Latimer, Pirate Hunter series)
• Hook’s Revenge | The Pirate Code by Heidi Schulz
• Ship Of Magic | The Mad Ship | Ship Of Destiny, by Robin Hobb
• The Thirteenth Ship, by Christina Engela (short story)
• Skulls & Crossbones, edited by Andi Marquette and R.G. Emanuelle (short stories)*
• Child Of A Hidden Sea, by A.M. Dellamonica (part 1 of the Hidden Sea Tales series)
• Hero, by Alethea Kontis (part 2 of the Woodcutter Sisters series)

Actual real historical lady pirates

• Fictional accounts
  • Grania: She-King Of The Irish Seas, by Morgan Llywelyn
  • The Wild Irish, by Robin Maxwell
  • Sea Star: The Private Life Of Anne Bonny, Pirate Queen, by Pamela Jekel
  • Anne Bonny, by Chloe Gartner
• Non fiction
  • Ireland’s Pirate Queen: The True Story Of Grace O’Malley, 1530-1603, by Anne Chambers
  • Pirate Queen: The Life Of Grace O’Malley, 1530-1603, by Judith Cook
  • The Pirate Queen: In Search Of Grace O’Malley And Other Legendary Women Of The Sea, by Barbara Sjoholm
  • Women Of The Sea: Ten Pirate Stories, by Myra Weatherly
  • Sea Queens: Women Pirates Around The World, by Jane Yolen
  • Women Pirates And The Politics Of The Jolly Roger, by Ulrike Klausman
  • Pirate Women: The Princesses, Prostitutes, And Privateers Who Ruled The Seven Seas, by Laura Sook Duncombe
  • Bold In Her Breeches: Women Pirates Across The Ages, by Jo Stanley
  • She Captains: Heroines And Hellions Of The Sea, by Joan Druett

Poetry & verse

• The Ballad Of The Pirate Queens, by Jane Yolen

Comics & graphic novels

• I Was Kidnapped By Lesbian Pirates From Outer Space, by Megan Rose Gedris (volume 1 of the series)*

Honourable mentions

• Cutlass: Ten Tales Of Pirates, edited by Rayne Hall (short stories)^†
• Tesoro: Secrets Of The Hidden Treasure, by Andrea Hintz
• The Gift Of The Pirate Queen, by Patricia Reilly Giff
• Cinnamon And Gunpowder, by Eli Brown
• Women Pirates: A Brief Anthology Of Thirteen Notorious Female Pirates, by F.O. Steele^†
• The Blade To Your Hand, by M.C.A. Hogarth*
• Seafaring Women, by Linda Grant De Pauw (non fiction)
• Iron Men, Wooden Women: Gender And Seafaring In The Atlantic World, 1700-1920, by Margaret Creighton (non fiction)
• Bloody Jack: Being An Account Of The Curious Adventures Of Mary “Jacky” Faber, Ship’s Boy, by L.A. Meyer (part 1 of the Bloody Jack series)
• Natalie’s Good Fortune: A Tale Of Piracy And Adventure, by Anthony R. Fanning (part 1 of the Adventures Of Natalie Brennan series)

More lists you can consult

• @readbreatherelax has a list of Awesome YA Pirate Books You May Not Know Exist
• Good Lesbian Books’ list of Lesbian Pirate Fiction – includes links to other lists, more pirate stuff, and original stories available for free online
• Cindy Vallar’s Pirates And Privateers Lists
• Amazon’s Women Pirate Books
• Amazon’s Top 10 Non-Fiction Women Pirate Books
• Goodreads’ Lady Pirates
• Goodreads’ Best Pirate Adventure Books For Women
• Goodreads’ Lesbian Pirates

Other kickass women: women in Greek mythology | women in Egyptian mythology & history | women in Mesoamerican mythologies | women in Celtic mythologies| women in Native American mythologies | women in Asian mythologies | women in Russian & Slavic mythologies