reads like one long preface, as opposed to an actual book. ( )

Took me an abnormally long time to finish this book. It isn't exciting and the author gets really bogged down with side stories but it is all to set the story of the era. It was interesting to read of a woman traveler in a time when women weren't supposed to do that. One of the most interesting topics was her breast cancer and subsequent mastectomy in 1778. . . with no anesthesia. . . . hadn't really thought about mastectomies back then but she wasn't the first! ( )

A microhistorical biography using Elizabeth Marsh as its main subject. Some of the tense shifts bugged me about the writing, but the deep research is much in evidence and the potential was there for an even more interesting book. ( )

This is a very good book in a genre that lacks a name - history told through relating the life or events surrounding an insignificant player. Vignette history? Anecdotal history?
The author has done a wonderful job here - found a hero who played no role in world history, but whose life was buffeted by events, and, importantly, left enough of a paper trail to be able to examined and explained.
Elizabeth Marsh lived from 1735 - 1785, conceived in Jamaica, born in England, lived in the Mediterranean, captured by Moroccan pirates, freed by English influence, later lived and travelled in India - you couldn't make this stuff up!
The author is thorough in examining the scant available sources, and developing an understanding of what happened to Marsh and what it meant, both to the individual, and in the broader historical context. I felt at times that the analysis stretched the facts - I was entirely unconvinced that Marsh's mother may have been a descendant of slaves, and conversely, I could think of many scenarios to explain Marsh's travels independent of her husband not considered by the author. But not to be churlish - this is a quality book in every way. ( )

The impression I received was that Elizabeth Marsh's life was ripe with material. If that is indeed the case, why couldn't the author do more with what was available? ( )