Based on the legendary figure of Anne Bonny, Heart of a Pirate is historical fiction at its best with its attention to detail, romance, adventure, and questions of social justice.
Jamaica, October, 1720. The pirate ship of Calico Jack Rackham is captured off the western coast of Jamaica. While most of the crew is too drunk to defend against the onslaught of the King's navy, two of the crewmembers stand to fight against overwhelming odds. When finally forced to surrender, the commander of the governor's ship is amazed to discover that the two who defend are women disguised as menAnne Bonny and Mary Read.
Tracing Anne's upbringing among the society people of Charles Town and the circumstances that bring her to piracy, the story follows Anne as she makes her way among taverns, notorious pirate captains, and life aboard ship disguised as a man. As she matures from the girl who leaves Charles Town, Anne faces the moral questions of emerging slavery in the South and the Caribbean, and the poverty, prejudice, and war that define the men who are pirates, all the while fighting to take control of her destiny among those who will 'knock a woman down for her sex', the drama set against governments determined to rid the oceans of the sea robbers who threaten to cripple the world's emerging new capitalism.