Woman, Captain, Rebel: The Extraordinary True Story of a Daring Icelandic Sea Captain by Margaret Willson
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Web ID: 15843643Informative But Not Focused
Thurídur Einarsdóttir was a fearless woman who lived in Iceland during the 19th century. She was a sailor first and foremost, then grew into the role of captain and fought against inequality and prejudice her whole life. This work examines her life and the lives of those around her, with emphasis not on her sailing but on her struggles on land. I enjoyed learning about this person in history who I’d never heard about (and would never have without this book). The author did an excellent job characterizing Thurídur and highlighting the known difficulties and challenges that she faced throughout her long life. It was also an interesting look at 19th century Iceland with a focus on women and children. There were places where I felt the telling of Thurídur’s story became a bit convoluted and difficult to follow. The author’s research was evident, but unfortunately, I think too much of it was incorporated into this read. There were many different instances where the author went on a long, slow tangent about people who were adjacent (or barely adjacent) to Thurídur. Many other discussions of random topics were included, and it was difficult to determine the context of these tangents. This did detract from my enjoyment of the book as well as its overall readability. I think these tales would have been better to be included in an appendix if at all as they did negatively impact the continuity and flow of this book. I appreciated that the author included a list of major characters in the beginning of the work, which was vital to refer to while I was reading. There’s also a list of references cited in the back of the work, which was greatly appreciated. The author’s research was comprehensive and included many references from several different types of resources. This was an informative read but wasn’t as focused as it should have been and took some patience to get through. It is recommendable if you’re interested in Iceland during the nineteenth century. My thanks to NetGalley, Sourcebooks, and Tantor Audio for allowing me to read this work. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own.
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
Amazing woman, amazing book
This book is basically Forrest Gump, only the main character is a woman, born in Iceland in the 1700s, and doesn't fight in any wars. I mean this in the most positive way possible. Woman, Captain, Rebel follows the life of Thuridur Einarsdóttir. She was a woman born in Iceland in 1777. She would lead an amazing life which saw her become a sea captain, landholder, repeated litigant, shop worker, and probably a few other things I am missing. Very often, authors will hold up a person as having a varied and exceptional life. Thuridur truly did and what made it even more extraordinary is that she very often ended up destitute and clawed her way back. More than just a biography, this is the story of a small Icelandic town and their way of life. In just telling Thuridur's story, Margaret Willson actually writes a very strong history of Iceland and vividly portrays the challenges of their day to day lives. This book has a lot going for it and it never seemed to slow down. (This book was provided to me as an advance copy by Netgalley and Sourcebooks.)
Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
An Extraordinary Woman of her time
An Amazing story about Thuridur a woman sea captain that lived in Iceland in the 1800's, who lived her life her way no matter what difficulties was laid before her. The book reads like a novel that is intriguing and adventurous. The story of the Captain starts as a fisherman at a very young age where women didn't venture, but she did anyway and did very well. Through her hard work and integrity Thuridur was able to become a captain, and her capability as a Captain brought her respect. It was also known that she would go out of her way to help others less fortunate than herself and she would see that justice would be given to them no matter what. There is a lot of tragedy in this story too, the harsh conditions Thuridur had to endure to survive was unbearable a lot of the time, death of loved ones through drowning at sea, disease and childhood ailments and an unfair government system that view Icelanders as outsiders and not allow a fair share of compensation, but again she manage to get through all of it and live into her eighties. What I really like about this book is that it puts a light on a women in the 1800's, that no one knew existed and now the world will know and it great. I want to thank SOURCEBOOKS (non-fiction), Sourcebooks and NetGalley for an advance copy of this book about an extraordinary life
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
Great Book
Woman, Captain, Rebel: The Extraordinary True Story of a Daring Icelandic Sea Captain by Margaret Willson is an excellent nonfiction shining light on the surprisingly hidden, larger than life Captain Thurídur. I loved learning about her! This is the story of a fascinating woman that broke many barriers, wore many hats, had many talents, and left a true mark on history. Thurídur Einarsdóttir was testing preconceived notions and expectations of what women really were capable of and where they belonged in a time that really limited women’s roles in society (1777 to 1863). The author clearly has passion and has done her research. All of this is reflected in her notes, extra points, reference, tables, and lists. It all really helps understand the language, culture, and history of Iceland, its past, and its people. As I mentioned in the opening paragraph, I loved learning about this amazing woman, and I am glad that she has a chance to finally shine. 5/5 stars
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
Fascinating!
nonfiction, Iceland, women-in-history, women-s-rights, women-s-equality, sailing-ship, sea-captain, historical-places-events, historical-research, historical-figures, history-and-culture, late-18th-century, lore, cultural-anthropology, cultural-differences, cultural-exploration, cultural-heritage, family, relatives, relationships, biography***** Enter the land of ice and fire with its dependence on the icy sea and threatened by storms, earthquakes, and volcanic activity. Into this harsh environment with laws and traditions unchanged for centuries was a woman who was as excellent in fishing as she was at farming but hobbled by her gender. Probably no worse than others of her gender but far less willing to accept it for herself. Meticulous research and a cohesive presentation make this a truly readably yet scholarly book. An excellent read! I requested and received an EARC from Sourcebooks via NetGalley. Thank you!
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com