The Vale of Kashmir is too well known to require description. It is the 'happy hunting-ground' of the Anglo-Indian sportsman and tourist, the resort of artists and invalids, the home of pashm shawls and exquisitely embroidered fabrics, and the land of Lalla Rookh. Its inhabitants, chiefly Moslems, infamously governed by Hindus, are a feeble race, attracting little interest, valuable to travellers as 'coolies' or porters, and repulsive to them from the mingled cunning and obsequiousness whi...

Partie d’Angleterre, Lucy Bird débarque au port de Québec en mai 1861. L’heure de sa première mission comme chasseuse de plantes et représentante officielle de la reine Victoria est venue. Travaillant pour le compte du Kew Garden de la Royal Botanic Society de Londres, elle doit trouver des végétaux rares, des épices nouvelles, des fleurs aux couleurs sublimes ou d’une quelconque utilité à sa mère patrie. Mais ce sont les plantes guérisseuses que l’on dit magiques qui fascinent le plus la ...

Within the last century the Hawaiian islands have been the topic of various works of merit, and some explanation of the reasons which have led me to enter upon the same subject are necessary. I was travelling for health, when circumstances induced me to land on the group, and the benefit which I derived from the climate tempted me to remain for nearly seven months. During that time the necessity of leading a life of open air and exercise as a means of recovery, led me to travel on horsebac...

I have found a dream of beauty at which one might look all one's life and sigh. Not lovable, like the Sandwich Islands, but beautiful in its own way! A strictly North American beauty—snow-splotched mountains, huge pines, red-woods, sugar pines, silver spruce; a crystalline atmosphere, waves of the richest color; and a pine-hung lake which mirrors all beauty on its surface. Lake Tahoe is before me, a sheet of water twenty-two miles long by ten broad, and in some places 1,700 feet deep. It l...

The letters of which these volumes are composed embrace the second half of journeys in the East extending over a period of two years. They attempt to be a faithful record of facts and impressions, but were necessarily written in haste at the conclusion of fatiguing marches, and often in circumstances of great discomfort and difficulty, and I relied for their correction in the event of publication on notes made with much care. Unfortunately I was robbed of nearly the whole of these, partly ...

Lucy Bird songe avec excitation aux trésors qu’elle rapporte dans ses bagages. Or, si elle veut marquer un grand coup en tant que chasseuse de plantes au service de l’Empire britannique, encore faut-il qu’elle ramène sa précieuse cargaison à Londres. Le territoire entre elle et le port de Québec est si vaste que sa foi en la réussite de l’entreprise s’effrite. Accompagnée d’Étienne le coureur des bois et de Mahikan le guerrier innu, elle devra marcher jour et nuit pour arriver à temps à so...

"Korea and Her Neighbors" is a travelogue written by Isabella Lucy Bird, a renowned Victorian-era explorer and writer. Published in 1898, the book details Bird's extensive travels throughout Korea and neighboring regions during the late 19th century.Isabella Bird's writings are characterized by her vivid descriptions of the places she visited and the people she encountered. In "Korea and Her Neighbors," she offers an insightful account of Korean culture, society, customs, and lands...

After the River of Golden Sand and the Min unite at Sui Fu, the Great River asserts its right to be regarded as the most important of Asiatic waterways by furnishing, by its main stream and the tributaries which thereafter enter it, routes easy of navigation through the rich and crowded centre of China, with Canton by the Fu-ling, with only two portages, and with Peking (Tientsin) itself by the Grand Canal, which it cuts in twain at Chin Kiang. It is only of the navigable affluents of the ...

Isabella Bird first woman to be elected to the Royal Geographical Society, 1831 - 1904. This book was published in 1856, her excursions to mid 19th century America. Shows the changes in America at the turn of the century through her eyes. As a general dislike of prefaces is unmistakeably evidenced by their uncut leaves, and as unknown readers could scarcely be induced to read a book by the most cogent representations of an unknown author, and as apologies for "rushing into print" are too t...

Journeys in Persia and Kurdistan, Volume 2 (of 2) is the second volume in Isabella Lucy Bird's published memoirs recounting her continued travels through Persia and Kurdistan in the late 19th century. This volume provides Bird's vivid first-hand account of her travels through the Upper Karun region and her visits with the Nestorian Rayahs Christian community.With her unique voice as a solo female British explorer, Bird documents her observations of the landscapes, architecture, loc...

"The Englishwoman in America" penned by Isabella Lucy Bird offers a captivating firsthand account of her travels through the United States during the mid-19th century. Published in 1856, this insightful narrative presents Bird's observations, encounters, and adventures as she traverses the diverse landscapes and cultures of America.Bird, a bold and intrepid traveler, provides vivid descriptions of her experiences, offering readers an authentic glimpse into the young nation. Her nar...

"The Golden Chersonese and the Way Thither" is a travel narrative penned by Isabella Lucy Bird during the late 19th century, documenting her extensive journey through Southeast Asia. Published in 1883, this book chronicles Bird's explorations across the Malay Peninsula, Singapore, and other regions in what is now known as Malaysia and Thailand.In her signature descriptive style, Bird paints vivid pictures of the landscapes, cultures, and peoples she encountered during her travels. ...