Bonny & Read

The stunning new feminist retelling of the real-life female pirates of the Caribbean

‘A cracking read… Fascinating, complex characters and a real page-turner!’

LIZ HYDER, author of THE GIFTS

‘Bonny and Read has it all. Adventure, atmosphere, sizzling suspense and unforgettable characters. Such a brilliant debut!’

SD SYKES, author of THE GOOD DEATH

‘A deftly told tale of the complexities of friendship, female identity & freedom, featuring two remarkable women determined to define their own destinies … the pages turn themselves’

ANITA FRANK, author of THE LOST ONES

‘What a debut! A fabulous, dangerous sea-shanty of a story’

KATIE MUNNIK, author of THE AERIALISTS

‘A wonderful story, so beautifully told and absolutely gripping to the very end’

EMMA CARROLL

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Rebels. Pirates. Women.

Caribbean, 1720. Two extraordinary women are on the run - from their pasts, from the British Navy and the threat of execution, and from the destiny that fate has written for them.

Plantation owner’s daughter, runaway wife, pirate - Anne Bonny has forged her own story in a man’s world. But when she is involved in the capture of a British merchant ship, she is amazed to find another woman amongst the crew, with a history as unconventional as her own. Dressed as a boy from childhood, Mary Read has been a soldier, a sailor, a widow - but never a woman in charge of her own destiny.

As their exhilarating, tumultuous exploits find fame, the ballad of Bonny and Read is sung from shore to shore - but when you swim against the tide of history, freedom is a dangerous thing…

An exuberant reimagining of the extraordinary story of Bonny & Read - trailblazing, boundary-defying, swashbuckling heroines whose story deserves to be known. Perfect for fans of Ariadne, The Mercies and The Familiars.