This article was published in the November 2, 1850 issue of the National Police Gazette. Mary Read is born in the Midlands. She is 15 when her grandmother dies, and her mother also dies. She works as a footboy until her employer falls in love with her, and in the army for four years before… Continue reading Lives of the Felons: Mary Read and Anne Bonney
Tag: Bad Girl Anne
Storied & Scandalous Charleston: A History of Piracy and Prohibition, Rebellion and Revolution by Leigh Jones Handal
This book was published in 2022. Jones Handal writes a bio for Anne Bonny but says its veracity "is left to the reader's discretion." Anne's parents are William McCormack (which he changes later to Cormac) and Peg Brennan, and they move to Charles Town. Anne's father disowns her for marrying James Bonny, with whom she… Continue reading Storied & Scandalous Charleston: A History of Piracy and Prohibition, Rebellion and Revolution by Leigh Jones Handal
A Short History of Queer Women by Kirsty Loehr
This book was published in 2022. Mary Read dresses as a boy to claim an inheritance, but then continues dressing as a boy, which makes her mother disown her. Anne Bonny lives with her father in South Carolina in the early 1700s, where she is an alcoholic and burns her father's plantation. Anne runs away… Continue reading A Short History of Queer Women by Kirsty Loehr
The Lost Pirate Kingdom
This series aired on Netflix in 2021. The show features talking head interviews interspersed with dramatized vignettes, in which John Rackham is played by Jack Waldouck and Anne Bonny by Mia Tomlinson. According to the show, Anne's mother died before Anne was 13. In 1715 she is 16 years old and living in Nassau. She… Continue reading The Lost Pirate Kingdom
Fire on Dark Water by Wendy K. Perriman
This novel was published in 2011. The story is told from the point of view of Lola, the servant stabbed by Anne Bonny, whose father William Cormac grows rice on a plantation called Black River. Anne is a brat but teaches Lola to read and write. Anne's mother Mary gets "marsh fever" and dies when… Continue reading Fire on Dark Water by Wendy K. Perriman
Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag
This installment in the Assassin's Creed series came out in 2013. The player character is employed at Abstergo, a tech company with virtual reality software that allows users to witness the experiences of dead people. Instead of using this technology to, for example, solve crimes, the player character is tasked with harvesting cinematic footage from… Continue reading Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag
To Hell or Barbados: The Ethnic Cleansing of Ireland by Sean O’Callaghan
This book was published in 2000. O'Callaghan says that Ann Bonny's father left Ireland because of his involvement in activities against George I. He and Ann move to Charleston when she is 15. James Bonny brings Ann on board Jack Rackham's ship. She leaves James and falls in love with Mary, who has somehow fought… Continue reading To Hell or Barbados: The Ethnic Cleansing of Ireland by Sean O’Callaghan
4,000 Years of Uppity Women: Rebellious Belles, Daring Dames, and Headstrong Heroines Through the Ages by Vicki León
This book was published in 2011. Anne grows up in South Carolina. Mary's first husband is British and named Jules, whom she meets while working on a man of war. She traverses the Atlantic on a merchantman that is captured by Calico Jack. Anne and Mary meet and become a criminal team in the 1600s.… Continue reading 4,000 Years of Uppity Women: Rebellious Belles, Daring Dames, and Headstrong Heroines Through the Ages by Vicki León
Sea Queens: Women Pirates Around the World by Jane Yolen
This book was published in 2008. Mary Read's father (who is described that way but then is actually not her father) is a merchant captain whose mother promised him and his wife money if they had a son. The not-dad dies at sea. Mary's tavern business is disrupted by the Peace of Utrecht instead of… Continue reading Sea Queens: Women Pirates Around the World by Jane Yolen
The Republic of Pirates: Being the True and Surprising Story of the Caribbean Pirates and the Man Who Brought Them Down by Colin Woodard
This book was published in 2007. Anne Bonny's father's plantation is in South Carolina. She is 16 years old when she is living in the Bahamas with James Bonny. Woodard describes Jack Rackham as dressing flamboyantly and brightly. Jack sails with Charles Vane on the Lark in May 1718. He is elected quartermaster in June.… Continue reading The Republic of Pirates: Being the True and Surprising Story of the Caribbean Pirates and the Man Who Brought Them Down by Colin Woodard
Depictions of John Rackam, Anne Bonny, and Mary Read 