Great Women Travel Writers: From 1750 to the Present

Travel is sacred. Travel is a quest. Travel is an escape. Travel is a passion! It is enlightening, a distraction, a novelty, a dream fulfilled. It may inspire joy, terror, longing – often, all three. Women explorers and travelers are a special breed. Some were also great writers, recording their cross-cultural impressions with stunning vividness, blending history, myth, technology, and poetic imagination. The 22 courageous women profiled in this book encircled the globe. Together, they form a grand tradition and speak to us today as never before – - Lady Hester Stanhope (1776-1839) left the comfort of England to wander through the Near East – never to return home, so deeply did she treasure her freedom - Fanny Lewald (1811-89) traveled through Europe and especially Italy to record its Risorgimento - Pandita Ramabai (1858-1922) traveled from India and lived through Western experiences that revamped her ideas - Daisy Bates (1859-1951), Irish to the roots, immersed herself in Australian Aboriginals - Gertrude Bell (1868-1926), dubbed Queen of the Desert, was the most powerful woman in Edwardian England - the Danish Isak Dinesen (1885-1962) made her mark in Africa - Anaïs Nin (1903-77) may be thought of as a mental traveler - Freya Stark (1893-1993) – knighted by Queen Elizabeth for her contribution to travel literature – lived among the Druze of Syria and in shades of our own time researched the deadly terrorist group of ancient Persian Assassins - Oriana Fallaci (1930- ) has literally covered the world - Valentina Vladimirovna Tereshkova (1937- ), has surely traveled the farthest as the first woman in space A dozen other women who boldly crossed international barriers often to encounter the most patriarchal cultures of their time are focused on in this delightful book – a significant contribution to travel literature as well as to women’s studies.