Female Tars: Women Aboard Ship in the Age of Sail - Softcover

Stark, Suzanne J.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1591145724 ISBN 13: 9781591145721

Publisher: Naval Institute Press, 2017

Synopsis

The wives and female guests of commissioned officers often went to sea in the sailing ships of the British Royal Navy in the 18th and 19th centuries, but there were other women on board as well, rarely mentioned in print. Suzanne Stark has written the story of the women who lived on the lower decks. She thoroughly investigates the custom of allowing prostitutes to live with the crews of warships in port. She provides some judicious answers to questions about what led so many women to such an appalling fate and why the Royal Navy unofficially condoned the practice. She also offers some revealing firsthand accounts of the wives of warrant officers and semen who spent years at sea living-and fighting-beside their men without pay or even food rations, and of the women in male disguise who actually served as seamen or marines. These women's stories have long intrigued the public as the popularity of the often richly embellished accounts of their exploits has proved. Stark disentangles fact from myth and offers some well-founded explanations for such perplexing phenomena as the willingness of women to join the navy when most of the men had to be forced on board by press gangs. Now available in paperback, this lively history draws on primary sources and so gives an authentic view of life on board the ships of Britain's old sailing navy and the social context of the period that served to limit roles open to lower-class women. The final chapter is devoted to the autobiography of one redoubtable seagoing woman: Mary Lacy, who served as a seaman in shipwright in the Royal Navy for twelve years.

About this title

Review:

"Female Tars is well-written, and accessible to both academic and casual readers. This study expands our understanding of life aboard Royal Navy warships during the age of sail. In doing so it brings into context the social and economic situations women faced during the long eighteenth century with the wartime pressures faced by the Royal Navy to keep warships manned. The Naval Institute Press should be commended to bring such an important work back into print." --Naval Historical Foundation

"Stark has successfully provided us with a rich glimpse into a fascinating era and this material is presented in an engaging manner. This book has wide appeal for anyone with an interest in marine history and/or gender studies." --The Northern Mariner/Le marin du nord

"Stark masterfully disentangles the myths and facts about women of the lower deck of warships. She also enlightens us as to why they chose this harsh life. Finally and perhaps most importantly, she illuminates the social context of these lower-class women and the limited roles open to them. Female Tars is an invaluable addition to any collection dealing with the Royal Navy, women at sea, women's history, and life during the Age of Sail." --Pirates and Privateers: The History of Maritime Piracyand Goodreads

"For a very long time now I have delighted in histories, letters, records, and memoirs to do with the Royal Navy in the eighteenth and early nineteenth century; but Suzanne Stark's book has told me many, many things I did not know, and I shall keep it on an honored shelf."--Patrick O'Brian

"Despite its age, Female Tars remains an interesting and insightful work about a still little known aspect of life at sea, a subject needing more research." --Strategy Page

About the Author:

Suzanne J. Stark (1926-2015) was an artist, teacher, editor and freelance writer.

About this edition

• Publisher: Naval Institute Press
• Publication date: 2017
• ISBN 10: 1591145724
• ISBN 13: 9781591145721
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 224