The Queen of Whale Cay

by KateSummerscale (Author)

• Used

  Paperback
  1998

  $3.80

  Joe Carstairs was born in London in 1900, the daughter of a Scottish colonel and an American heiress. She was educated in Connecticut and returned to Europe in 1916, to drive ambulances for the Women's Legion in France. She deserted her husband at the church door (marriage having been a prerequisite of her coming into her $4 million inheritance) and settled in England, where she took up motor-boat racing, winning many trophies, and established a boatyard at Cowes. In the 1930s Carstairs began to travel the world and eventually settled in the West Indies, where she bought the island of Whale Cay. There she developed a community and embarked on a programme of building which ranged from roads and schools to lighthouses and churches. She established hegemony over the 500 islanders, controlling not only their sexual morals but also their diet. In 1944 she built a deep-water harbour for use by the Royal Navy and then, without a word to the islanders, left for Florida, where she spent 40 years, having built war-craft, run a steamship freight-line, and set up a chain of airports. This biography aims to bring out of obscurity an extraordinary woman.

• Used

  Paperback
  2008

  $39.49

  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.

• Used

  Hardcover
  1997

  $5.82

  Joe Carstairs was born in London in 1900, the daughter of a Scottish colonel and an American heiress. She was educated in Connecticut and returned to Europe in 1916, to drive ambulances for the Women's Legion in France. She deserted her husband at the church door (marriage having been a prerequisite of her coming into her $4 million inheritance) and settled in England, where she took up motor-boat racing, winning many trophies, and established a boatyard at Cowes. In the 1930s Carstairs began to travel the world and eventually settled in the West Indies, where she bought the island of Whale Cay. There she developed a community and embarked on a programme of building which ranged from roads and schools to lighthouses and churches. She established hegemony over the 500 islanders, controlling not only their sexual morals but also their diet. In 1944 she built a deep-water harbour for use by the Royal Navy and then, without a word to the islanders, left for Florida, where she spent 40 years, having built war-craft, run a steamship freight-line, and set up a chain of airports. This biography aims to bring out of obscurity an extraordinary woman.