Women in the Field: America's Pioneering Women Naturalists

by Marcia Bonta

Men generally dominated the study of the outdoors in the late eighteenth through the early twentieth centuries. But there were women in the field, too. Marcia Myers Bonta gives biographies of twenty-five of these women naturalists in this well-detailed study.

Bonta divides the women by the subject of their study: naturalists, botanists, entomologists, ornithologists, and ecologists. She also describes a group of women that she considers pioneers, showing them in all their individuality, as field persons, as professionals, and as friends with others in their field.

A handful were recognized experts. Agnes Chase was considered the best agrostologist in the world; Alice Eastwood was made honorary president of the seventh International Botanical Congress in Sweden; Elizabeth Gertrude Knight Britton was called the mother of bryology. In the 1950s conservationist Rachel Carson became a well-known voice in the fight against pesticides, and in 1962 she published Silent Spring, a chilling account of the effects of pesticides on people, wildlife, and the environment.

Others were less well known. Jane Colden did botanical work and drawing in the 1740s and 1750s, with the support of her father. Martha Maxwell developed a new method of taxidermy in the 1860s, displaying animals in their habitat. Kate Brandegee, of California, hid her identity from the established botanical community in the East for many years, knowing they would look down on dissenting work done not only in the West but by a woman.

This book provides insight and information about the history of American nature study as well as women's roles in the natural sciences.

Genres: Nature, Nonfiction, History, Science, Womens, Ecology, Biography

320 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 1991

About the author

Marcia Bonta is a freelance nature writer who lives in the mountains of Central Pennsylvania.

Reviews

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

When you look back into history you don't often hear of the women who made the scientific discoveries. Sure there's Curie, and a few others, but more prominently featured are those accomplishments of men. Especially so when you think of naturalists (your first thought is probably Muir or even Darwin). After all, women getting down in the dirt in nature back in the days of yore, heaven forbid.

But they were there, and they had some really astonishing discoveries that were either overshadowed or attributed to some of their male colleagues. This book features 25 of them, ranging from different practices like ecology and entomology (and you've probably heard of at least one due to her famous book, Silent Spring).

Most of them seemed to find their way to the field through drawing, an acceptable practice by women in that time, but just as many were taking down scientific notations and gleaning insights about the wildlife they were studying. I especially enjoyed learning about Martha Maxwell and her taxidermy that she used to sustain herself and her family.

The book can get a bit dry at times, but largely is well done and each naturalist gets a decent amount of description and history. While it may not be for everyone, anyone interested in natural history should give it a read.

Review by M. Reynard 2024

[Neely · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a lovely book about so many amazing women! Well written and fascinating.

[Bonnie]

Biographies of early female naturalists and their work in North American natural science. A good starting place for further research for me.

[David · Rating 2 out of 5]

A useful, engaging collection of profiles of American women naturalists, from the well-known (Rachel Carson) to the obscure (Ynes Mexia). These pioneering women show a range of personalities, pleasant and not so; but all of them who succeeded at field work show an acquired taste for beans. Bonta emphasizes the mutual support networks that arose among them, especially the Althea Sherman-Margaret Morse Nice-Amelia Laskey axis. For a number of reasons, many of these women do not leave a record of extensive publications (Florence Merriam Bailey and Carson being notable exceptions); rather, their legacy is often in assembling collections and organizing museums (Alice Eastwood, Ellen Quillin).

It seems unfair to downrate a book for something outside of the author's control. However, the paperback edition is marred by a production error for which the publisher, Texas A&M Press, should be abashed: on several pages there are illustrations that don't take up the entire page and the text continues under the illustration. Or at least (presumably) it does so in the original 1991 hardcover edition; in my paper edition, the text is just missing. Cutting two half-paragraphs out of Alice Eastwood's story, for instance, does her no good service.

Good pointers in the bibliography to more complete treatments of several of these groundbreakers—a good resource for some of my Wikipedia projects.

[Ann · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bonta has produced a delightful collection of biographies of important American women naturalists. She has divided the book into sections with an introduction to women who are important to the topic but for whom there is little information. Her accounts clearly situate these women in their history and social and personal contexts which makes particularly interesting reading in the 21rst century. I only wish she had concluded with a kind of epilogue chapter rather than the few sentences at the conclusion to her chapter on Rachel Carson. I highly recommend the book for those interested in natural history, nature writing, scientific women in America, and conservation.

[Christie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this book very insightful when I was first starting my career with the Park Service and working as a bio tech. Some chapters were less interesting than others, but most were enjoyable. I especially liked the chapter about the first woman taxidermist.

[Aleta · Rating 5 out of 5]

This isn't a new book, but science teachers and others should absolutely get this into the hands of aspiring girl scientists and naturalists. A great inspiration to me early in my start in such a career.

[Alexis · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book should be read by all young people in science...we only get to hear how the boys contributed to building science. Yay for all these women!!