Why the exception with pirates? Well, most of that is down to two incredible women, Anne Bonny and Mary Reed. Anne and Mary lived fascinating lives, breaking boundaries and overcoming expectations.

The Bonney-Read Krewe is an all-women krewe that started in 1994. It’s named for pirates Anne Bonnie and Mary Read, who are now displayed on the front of their new float.

An OCEARCH-tagged great white shark nicknamed Anne Bonny, after the 18th century female pirate, swam by Point Pleasant Beach, New Jersey.

An OCEARCH-tagged great white shark nicknamed Anne Bonny, after the 18th century female pirate, swam by Point Pleasant Beach, New Jersey.

Anne Bonny and Mary Read developed a close friendship and were both seen as fierce fighters. Read was rumored to have continued fighting when other crew members, including Rackham, had surrendered.

Anne Bonny: $1.5 million (£1.2m) Known for her fiery temper, Bonny soon befriended fellow pirate Mary Read. In 1720, the duo led raids against fishing boats and trading sloops.

Here were all the fabled plunderers of the seas: Blackbeard, Bartholomew Roberts, Anne Bonny and Mary Read and many others. More than any other book, the General History changed the way we see pirates ...

Stoney Steps tribute to the pirate Anne Bonny in Kinsale. All the men were sentenced to death and hanged a few days later, but Anne and Mary avoided the hangman’s noose because they were pregnant.

Ars Technica: Your prior book, Pirate Queens, focused on female pirates like Anne Bonny and Mary Read. It must have been challenging for a woman to pass herself off as a man on a pirate ship.

Similar to Stede and Blackbeard, Anne Bonny and Mary Read’s names are often tied together in history. Was this always how you envisioned bringing in more famous pirates?