Women have always been involved in maritime life, but their stories have rarely been told. David Cordingly looks at this traditionally male domain and finds some remarkable women: Mary Patten, who took command of a vessel and sailed it round Cape Horn at the age of nineteen; Grace Darling, the daughter of a lighthouse keeper, who rowed out in ferocious seas to rescue three shipwrecked men; and the awesome Anne Bonny, who disguised herself as a man and became a fearsome pirate before being sentenced to the gallows.

From the waterfront prostitutes and the women who went to sea dressed as sailors, to the wives who were left waiting at home, HEROINES AND HARLOTS looks at the unique relationship between women and the sea.

'Fascinating, never at a loss for detail.' Herald