Description

Ferocity, Folklore, and Fierce Freedom.

Sadie Farrell: Blood on the Hudson tells the gripping, historically grounded story of one of New York City's most notorious yet little-known figures. Born in the rough and poverty-stricken Fourth Ward, Sadie Farrell rose from a childhood marked by hunger, violence, and fierce survival instinct to become a feared mugger whose headfirst attacks earned her the name Sadie the Goat. Humiliated in a brutal fight with the towering bouncer Gallus Mag, Sadie fled to the West Side waterfront, where she joined and eventually commanded a frail gang of would-be thieves. Under her strategic leadership, they hijacked a sloop and carved a brief but unforgettable reign of piracy along the Hudson and Harlem Rivers. This book traces her journey from battered girl to river captain to hardened survivor and ends with a detailed historical timeline of her life to help separate fact from enduring folklore.

"This is a razor sharp tale rooted deeply in history. Absolutely ferocious, moving, and brilliantly atmospheric."
⁃ Helena Johnson, Historian