Jeanne Baret' makes for an engrossing journey

THE DISCOVERY OF JEANNE BARET: A STORY OF SCIENCE, THE HIGH SEAS, AND THE FIRST WOMAN TO CIRCUMNAVIGATE THE GLOBE Glynis Ridley 304 pages, Crown, $25
By DOUGLASS K. DANIEL
Published: April 03, 2011

http://www2.timesdispatch.com/entertainment/2011/apr/03/tdbook04-jeanne-baret-makes-for-an-engrossing-jour-ar-939078/

Readers who join author Glynis Ridley's fascinating literary expedition will discover far more than the life of the first woman to sail around the world.

[...]

She quieted rumors of gender-bending by claiming to be a eunuch, thus putting off those sailors who feared such a fate or pitied such a creature. Exactly when and how her secret became widely known is a subject of debate and conjecture.