A beautifully researched, beautifully written biography of Jeanne Barret, the first woman to sail around the world. Barret was born to peasant stock in France, became the servant and then the assistant to botanist Philibert Commerson and who shipped with him, dressed as a man, on Bougainville's scientific expedition in 1766. Clode goes back to archival sources from across the world, and avoids unfounded speculation about Barret's life (a major annoyance in an earlier biography of the same subject). She also brings in her personal experiences as a researcher and as a young woman voyaging on the family yacht Calif, however these discursions illuminate rather than dominate the story of Jeanne Barret. I loved this humble and illuminating book, with its insistance that there is more to be found lying undiscovered in the archives, and its lyrical descriptions of France and the Pacific. ( )

The intriguing and previously unknown story of Jeanne Barret. Clode employs her unusual 'family history' style of writing as she so successfully used in "The Wasp and the Orchid'.

Great research and compilation into a book. Scant historical records are interspersed with her own stories - all a very enjoyable read 😃😃 ( )