Suzanne J. Stark

Stark does an excellent job of documenting the existence of three types of women frequently aboard British and American ships during the 17th, 18th and early 19th centuries: prostitutes, the wives of warrant officers and seamen, and women disguised as male crewmembers. Her examination of the legends, myths and claims surrounding the "women in disguise" is the real focal point of the book. She exposes several such stories as folklore which originated with the publication of fake biographies made up by publishers to appeal to popular whims, "pulp fiction" written for the market place. She manages to historically document and prove several other accounts of women crewmembers at sea, proving that although such occurrences were not common they did happen occasionally. And although women never went to sea "in search of lost lovers" they sometimes went because they preferred dressing and working as men to the limited alternatives they faced as women.… (plus d'informations)