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 travellers 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:

. Lady Hester Stanhope (1776-1839) left the comfort of England to wander through the Near East never to return home

. Pandita Ramabai (1858-1922) traveled from India and lived through Western experiences that revamped her ideas

. Gertrude Bell (1868-1926), dubbed ‘Queen of the Desert’, was the most powerful woman in England after World War I

. Isak Dinesen (1885-1962), famously made her mark in Africa

. Freya Stark (1893-1993), in shades of our own time, researched the deadly terrorist group of ancient Persian Assassins

and many more!”