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18th out of 139 books
—
45 voters
A Voyager Out: The Life of Mary Kingsley
Mary Kingsley began her life as a typically conventional Victorian woman. She would end up travelling to some of the most inhospitable regions of Africa and became one of the most celebrated travellers of the day. At the age of 31, she sailed on a cargo ship along the coast from Sierra Leone to Angola and then traveled inland from Guinea to Nigeria, studying African custom...more
Paperback, 352 pages
Published
January 8th 2006
by Tauris Parke Paperbacks
(first published 1986)
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In my recent love affair with biographies, I've discovered something - I have to be very careful about whose version of someone I'm reading. I once read a biography about Agatha Christie. It was interesting but seemed quite disconnected from the authoress herself. I looked forward to reading Christie's own story, which I'd just found and had next on my list. Unfortunately, when I went to read her story, it seemed like the biography I'd read before must have already stated 90% of what was in Agat...more
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A remarkable Victorian woman, Mary Kingsley became her mother's nurse and caretaker from age four to 30. Virtually abandoned by her world traveler father, she taught herself to read his medical books and had an insatiable interest in travel, tribal structure and religions, as well as flora and fauna. But as a proper daughter of the age, she was bound to the wish and whim of her father, and brother when the father died about the same time as her mother. Only when the brother journeyed half-hearte...more
May 12, 2007
Ann
rated it
3 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
those interested in Victorian times, and exploration
This is a biography of Mary Kingsley, one of the most well-known woman explorers of the Victorian era. It was a very interesting read. Mary Kingsley was such a study in contrasts. She was a dutiful Victorian woman; putting her life and dreams on hold while she nursed her ill, demanding parents for years, untuil their deaths, and while she later kept house for her demanding brother.
There was a completely different side to Mary Kingsley, however. The minute that she was free from the demands of f...more
There was a completely different side to Mary Kingsley, however. The minute that she was free from the demands of f...more
I loved this! To think of a woman in that time, going exploring alone, is fantastic-such courage, and she's inspirational.
Victorian explorer, Mary Kingsley
May 20, 2013
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