- Paperback: 256 pages
- Publisher: Harper Perennial (1 April 2008)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0007276664
- ISBN-13: 978-0007276660
- Product Dimensions: 19.3 x 13 x 2 cm
- Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (33 customer reviews)
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Amazon Bestsellers Rank:
227,606 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #51 in Books > Sports, Hobbies & Games > Water Sports > Boating > Motor Boating & Cruising
- See Complete Table of Contents
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More About the Author
Product Description
Review
'Her biography has all the ingredients for a delightfully subversive read' Guardian
‘Deserves to be the year’s bestseller. A fascinating, hilarious and deliciously subversive read’ Literary Review
‘A gem of a biography’ Evening Standard
‘A wonderful account of a truly extraordinary life’ Daily Mail
Product Description
A fascinating biography of the woman champion motorboat racer of the 1920s who in the ’30s bought and became ‘ruler’ of an island in the British West Indies.
’Joe’ Carstairs was born in London in 1900, the daughter of a Scottish colonel and an American heiress. Educated in Connecticut, she returned to Europe in 1916 and drove ambulances for the Women’s Legion in France. She deserted her husband at the church door (marriage was a prerequisite of her coming into her $4 million inheritance) and settled in England where she took up racing, established a boat yard at Cowes and won nearly every trophy going. In the 30s she started travelling widely, finally moving to the West Indies where she bought the island of Whale Cay. There she developed the island into a populated community, building everything from roads and schools to lighthouses and churches. Carstairs then suceeded in establishing hegemony over the 500 islanders, controlling not only their sexual morals but also their diet. In 1944 she built a deepwater harbour for the Royal Navy’s use and, without a word to her population, left the island to build warcraft in Florida, where she settled for 40 years, having run a steamship freightline and set up a chain of airports. Kate Summerscale’s brilliant biography brings out of obscurity a woman whose very boldness took her beyond fame and notoriety.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
15 of 16 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Born in the same year as the Queen Mother (1900) the life of Marion Barbara ("Joe") Carstairs took a very different course. A wonderful and beautifully written account of an outrageous twentieth century personality. The story moves from the battlefields of World War I to an island paradise in the Bahamas via the louche and fast society of London in the Twenties. Those met on the way include Tallulah Bankhead, Dolly Wilde, Marlene Dietrich and the Duke and Duchess of Windsor.
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Vine™ Review
(What's this?)
The author herself sums up this biography in the introduction, and incredibly accurately. I tried to paraphrase it but can not write it better than the author (unsurprisingly ...) , so I will reproduce the summary here for those interested:
"There are many things that this book could or would not be. It would not be a book about lesbianism - Joe Carstairs was too singular and strange to be representative of anything other than herself. It would not be a tribute to feminist strength and success - after all, the principle by which she defined herself was male. It would not be a comprehensive or strictly chronological account - there are too many gaps in the available material. But it could be a book which connected Joe Carstairs to the century she spanned, a twentieth-century fable with a twist. And it could be a book which sought to find the stories which fastened together the scenes of her life."
If this summary appeals to you, I urge you to try the biography, it's just as described there. It tells the story of a fascinating woman, in a fascinating era who had the money, the will and the imagination to live a fascinating life.
I was glad of the reprinted photographs and sketches, there are 16 sides of black and white images on glossy paper and 24 on the same paper which the text is printed on. The pictures include reproductions of press clippings, also.
My small criticism is that I'd have loved to read the original obituary, written by Kate Summerscale, which prompted her to write the book. Reprinting it in the biography would have completed it - especially as it's the very first thing described in the introduction, I did expect to find it reprinted at the end. Thanks for reading through my thoughts and the summary, I hope you found them helpful.
"There are many things that this book could or would not be. It would not be a book about lesbianism - Joe Carstairs was too singular and strange to be representative of anything other than herself. It would not be a tribute to feminist strength and success - after all, the principle by which she defined herself was male. It would not be a comprehensive or strictly chronological account - there are too many gaps in the available material. But it could be a book which connected Joe Carstairs to the century she spanned, a twentieth-century fable with a twist. And it could be a book which sought to find the stories which fastened together the scenes of her life."
If this summary appeals to you, I urge you to try the biography, it's just as described there. It tells the story of a fascinating woman, in a fascinating era who had the money, the will and the imagination to live a fascinating life.
I was glad of the reprinted photographs and sketches, there are 16 sides of black and white images on glossy paper and 24 on the same paper which the text is printed on. The pictures include reproductions of press clippings, also.
My small criticism is that I'd have loved to read the original obituary, written by Kate Summerscale, which prompted her to write the book. Reprinting it in the biography would have completed it - especially as it's the very first thing described in the introduction, I did expect to find it reprinted at the end. Thanks for reading through my thoughts and the summary, I hope you found them helpful.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Vine™ Review
(What's this?)
Having loved The Suspicions of Mr Whicher, I was eagerly looking forward to this book. I lent it to my neighbour before I got round to reading it and her reaction was: "The central character is so unpleasant, I found it hard to like the book." Now that I've read it, I know what she means. I can see why Kate Summerscale thought this would make a good book, because Joe is such an incredibly weird, unique character, but she was also deeply unpleasant and selfish, and I found it hard to work up much sympathy in her, or interest in her activities. I also thought the writing was rather uneven - The Queen of Whale Cay doesn't have the polish of Mr Whicher.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Wonderful Biography of a Wonderful Character
I admit that before I opened `The Queen of Whale Cay' I had never heard of Marian Barbara Carstairs, who was known as Joe Carstairs, who was proclaimed `the fastest woman on water'... Read more
Published 6 months ago by Simon Savidge Reads
Disappointing.
A rare occasion when I haven't finished reading a book. The idea is sound and the subject is interesting as can be seen from the synopsis. Read more
Published 7 months ago by Stuart Burns
A fascinating read about a fascinating woman!
A fascinating read about a fascinating woman! Had never heard of Joe Carstairs until I heard someone recommending this book. Read more
Published 14 months ago by lovemurakami
not as good as i thought it would be.
Bought this book after sue perkins recommended it on a book show hosted by she who must be obeyed. Pretty mediocre read - basically about a dazzlingly wealthy person ( inherited)... Read more
Published 14 months ago by I. Johnson
Good Evening, Lord Wadley...
This is a great read and an almost incredible story even by the standards of the eccentric ultra-rich. Read more
Published 17 months ago by Ian Millard
The Queen of Whale Cay
This well written book gives a wonderful insight into the life of the unbelievably wealthy Joe Carstairs and the amazing things she accomplished for herself and others.
Published 20 months ago by Sue N
The most unusual and wonderful book
Tired of the normal 'celeb' biography? Go for this. A surprising and eye-opening story. Highly recommended.
Published on 18 Feb 2010 by TeamScoop
Not a whale of a time
The premise of this is good: super-rich woman leads life of strange excess racing speedboats and seducing women. I'm not sure why I did not find it more diverting. Read more
Published on 29 Jan 2010 by Sam Allenby
Interesting but not influential
The Queen of Whale Cay is about a rich heiress who, having a fortune at her disposal, did pretty much what she wanted to. Read more
Published on 16 Oct 2009 by Paul T Horgan
Entertaining
If a newspaper obituary can only hint at the occasionally bizarre nature of someone's life, a fully-blow book can expose it all. Read more
Published on 17 Sep 2009 by IWFIcon
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