Non-fiction review: Woman, Captain, Rebel

I'm heading to Iceland later this year, so my reading has begun to include books of Icelandic history and legends, as well as guide books. This book caught my eye because it is the story of a remarkable woman, and also tells us a lot about the culture of the time. 

Title: Woman, Captain, Rebel: The Extraordinary True Story of a Daring Icelandic Sea Captain

Author: Margaret Willson

Publication Info: Sourcebooks, 2023, 420 pages

Source: Library

Publisher's Blurb:
A notorious crime, a lone woman fighting for equality, and the thrills of the wide-open sea

A daring and magnificent account of Iceland's most famous female sea captain who constantly fought for women's rights and equality—and who also solved one of the country's most notorious robberies.

Many people may have heard the old sailing superstition that having women onboard a ship was bad luck. Thus, the sea remains in popular knowledge a male realm. When we think of examples of daring sea captains, swashbuckling pirates, or wise fishermen, many men come to mind. Cultural anthropologist Margaret Willson would like to introduce a fearless woman into our imagination of the sea: Thurídur Einarsdóttir.

Captain Thurídur was a controversial woman constantly contesting social norms while simultaneously becoming a respected captain fighting for dignity and equality for underrepresented Icelanders. Both horrifying and magnificent, this story will captivate readers from the first page and keep them thinking long after they turn the last page.

My Review:
In my opinion, both the subtitle and the blurb perhaps overstate the case a bit, but there is no denying that the life of Thurídur Einarsdóttir was pretty amazing. Even in a time when women were not only permitted, but maybe even expected, to work on the fishing boats and pull their weight alongside the men (and on the boats was one place they earned equally with the men), it wasn't common for a woman to become a captain*, let alone arguably the best captain on her stretch of the coast, and Thurídur definitely refused to conform to the gender norms of her time, dressing in men's clothing and, as captain, holding a typically male role. The author quite correctly makes no speculations about any implications of this, but a reader may speculate.

This was a fairly long book, as Captain Thurídur lived a pretty long life. Maybe even a very long life, for the times. I tended to read a chapter at a time, sometimes turning away from the difficult turns her life took, the losses and suffering she dealt with over and over. But I kept coming back to see how she fought for her rights, for a good life, and increasingly as she aged, for justice for all the little people who weren't getting it. In my opinion that, more than her role as a captain, is what made her extraordinary. 

This wasn't the most gripping read, but I could tell and appreciate the meticulous research and am very glad to have gotten a glimpse into the reality of 19th-century life in Iceland. It felt like Thurídur managed to live through the one period where her unusual skills and attitudes were allowed to persist, and she took full advantage of it.

 *Don't think of Horatio Hornblower and captaining ships of the line. Thurídur was the captain of up to 8 or 10-oar open fishing boats that did only day fishing along the coast of Iceland--which was arguably more dangerous than sailing a warship.

My Recommendation:
It may not be for everyone, but this book is worth reading. This opinion of course reflects my rather specialized interests, in the lives of women historically, and right now in Iceland, but it is worth reading and definitely good in these times to be reminded that women have always been exceedingly capable and accomplished much by being far better than the men.

FTC Disclosure: I checked Woman, Captain, Rebel out of my library, and received nothing from the writer or publisher for my honest review.  The opinions expressed are my own and those of no one else.  I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."  



©Rebecca M. Douglass, 2025   
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