Woman, captain, rebel The extraordinary true story of a daring Icelandic sea captain

Margaret Willson, 1953-

Book - 2023

"A daring and magnificent account of Iceland's most famous female sea captain who constantly fought for women's rights and equality-and who also solved one of the country's most notorious robberies. Many people may have heard the old sailing superstition that having women onboard a ship was bad luck. Thus, the sea remains in popular knowledge a male realm. When we think of examples of daring sea captains, swashbuckling pirates, or wise fishermen, many men come to mind. Cultural anthropologist Margaret Willson would like to introduce a fearless woman into our imagination of the sea: Thurídur Einarsdóttir. Captain Thurídur was a controversial woman constantly contesting social norms while simultaneously becoming a respe...cted captain fighting for dignity and equality for underrepresented Icelanders. Both horrifying and magnificent, this story will captivate readers from the first page and keep them thinking long after they turn the last page"--

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Subjects
Genres
Biographies
History
Published
Naperville : Sourcebooks [2023]
Language
English
Main Author
Margaret Willson, 1953- (author)
Physical Description
xxix, 392 pages : map ; 21 cm
Bibliography
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN
9781728240053
  • List of Key Characters
  • A Note on Icelandic Names and Other Considerations
  • A Preface of Discovery
  • Hell Resurrected: A Prologue
  • 1. Daring to Be Different
  • 2. What Price Survival?
  • 3. Uncertain Territory
  • 4. Compromises of Honor
  • 5. Dark Shadows Amid Joy
  • 6. In the Pale Deep of Swans
  • 7. Naked Wind
  • 8. Reckonings
  • 9. Betrayal Is a Many-Colored Cloak
  • 10. Commanding Turbulence
  • 11. Intimate Blackmail
  • 12. Choices of Consequence
  • 13. The Bitter Bite of Regret
  • 14. Strange Happenings
  • 15. Malice Is a Many-Headed Hydra
  • 16. A Rising Scent of Murder
  • 17. Do Angels Steal?
  • 18. How Does One Know God?
  • 19. In the Belly of the Beast
  • 20. The Devils Are Dancing
  • 21. Stand Proud, Man Alive!
  • 22. Establishing Escapes
  • 23. Fury Unbound
  • 24. Is Peace Possible?
  • 25. Ascending Mountains
  • 26. Fate Listens to No One
  • 27. Fiery Reins of the Sea
  • 28. What Is Home?
  • 29. A Guide for All Seasons
  • 30. Intrepid Traveler
  • 31. The Power of a Simple Scrawl
  • 32. Guardian Angel
  • 33. The Sea at Rest
  • An Afterword
  • Acknowledgments
  • Reading Group Guide
  • A Conversation with the Author
  • Notes
  • References Cited
  • Index
  • About the Author
Review by Booklist Review

Woman, Captain, Rebel skillfully combines anthropology, history and sheer adventure into an entertaining and informative account of a legendary Icelandic figure. While traveling with an Icelandic friend, author Willson learned of Captain Thurídur from an historic plaque. Determined to bring this story of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries into historic context, Willson put her scholar's mind to the task and was able to find documentation for the facts behind the legend. In a society fraught with sexism and superstitions, with formal education nearly nonexistent, Thurídur started fishing at age eleven, audaciously wearing trousers on sea and on land. She became a captain in a profession where few women achieved that role, successfully advocated for herself and other women using the courts, and proved herself to be a detective in a notoriously unsolved case. Reading about Thurídur gives a glimpse into the harsh and sometimes cruel history of a country not so far away. Appropriate for academic and large public libraries.

From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review

Cultural anthropologist Willson (Seawomen of Iceland) delivers an earnest and admiring biography of pioneering Icelandic fishing captain Thurídur Einarsdóttir (1777--1863). An outlier in her patriarchal oceanside community of Stokkseyri, Thurídur went to sea at age 11 and soon began wearing trousers; not long after, she added her signature short top hat and a "jaunty tailcoat." By that time, she was known for her "keenly observant eyes and her startling weather-reading ability," which brought in Stokkseyri's largest catches. Thurídur became captain of a 10-oared boat and developed a reputation for "looking out for others": she hired women on her crew, adopted an impoverished niece, and modeled female independence by using the court system to fight for her rights in a culture that defined "wife" as a man's possession. Famously, her remarkable powers of observation helped solve a robbery when she identified the culprit based on a shoe left at the scene of the crime. (The county commissioner took credit, however.) Throughout, Willson draws from Iceland's rich storytelling tradition to evoke Thurídur's intelligence, courage, and "pithy wit" and to describe life in the island's rural communities. This earthy portrait will win its subject plenty of new fans. (Jan.)

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