Saturday 15 December 2012

Advent Heroine - Isabella Bird

Isabella Bird was born in 1831 and until she was 40 lived a 'normal' life, staying at home to care for family members as expected of a female of that era. She would probably have stayed there and been unknown had not doctors prescribed travel to cure her bad back and insomnia. For the next thirty years she travelled widely across the globe from Tibet to Japan to the American Rocky Mountains. She had many scary moments as a single woman travelling but it didn't seem to put her off. Her diaries and letters offer an insight into her travels. She really was quite extraordinary.


2 comments:

  1. Interesting Carol. I hadn't heard of this lady but jumped onto Wikipedia and found out about her life and travels. Always great to expand one's knowledge.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. What fascinated me was that she was pretty much an invalid until she was told to go and travel. Then 30 years of great energy and verve. It makes one think about mind over matter!

      Delete