Rose: The extraordinary story of Rose de Freycinet: wife, stowaway and the first woman to record her voyage around the world

by Suzanne Falkiner

The voyage of Rose de Freycinet, the stowaway who defied the French for love.

In 1814, in the aftermath of the French Revolution, nineteen-year-old Rose Pinon married handsome naval officer Louis de Freycinet, fifteen years her senior. Three years later, unable to bear parting from her husband, she dressed in men's clothing and slipped secretly aboard his ship the day before it sailed on a voyage of scientific discovery to the South Seas. Living for three years as the sole female among 120 men, Rose de Freycinet defied not only bourgeois society's expectations of a woman in 1817, but also a strict prohibition against women sailing on French naval ships.

From dancing at Governors' balls in distant colonies, to evading pirates and meeting armed Indigenous warriors on remote Australian shores, to surviving shipwreck in the wintry Falkland Islands, Rose used her quick pen to record her daily experiences, becoming the first woman to circumnavigate the world and leave a record of her journey. Suzanne Falkiner tells this story of courage, enduring love, curiosity and spirit of adventure, using contemporaneous accounts as well Rose's own journal and letters.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Biography Memoir, Biography

Kindle Edition

First published March 1, 2022

Reviews

[Kylie Young · Rating 2 out of 5]

I’m not particularly fond of the style of writing synonymous with historical retellings. It treads to closely to information dumping, a Wikipedia page, and just fact after fact with no character development.
I think Suzanne did a lovely job of illustrating how brave and daring Rose was for her time, there was just some love missing and I can’t put my finger on it.

Rose was extremely courageous especially for her young age, leaving her widowed mother for a multi year sailing exploration of Australia with her young husband while only a teen herself. Women were forbidden from navigation boats at the time, so imagine explaining to her mother and sister her plan to run away. But she was in love and her husband equally devoted. He named regions of Tasmania in her name sake, even though she was literally edited out of paintings.

It was fairly enjoyable just lacking something

[Denise Newton · Rating 4 out of 5]

https://denisenewtonwrites.com/?p=3544

Rose: The Extraordinary Story of Rose de Freycinet: Wife, Stowaway and the First Woman to Record Her Voyage Around the WorldRose: The Extraordinary Story of Rose de Freycinet: Wife, Stowaway and the First Woman to Record Her Voyage Around the World

Suzanne Falkiner

I have always loved the Freycinet Peninsula in Tasmania’s northeast, named for Louis de Freycinet. When I travel there in future, I shall also think of Rose, a person of equal courage and adventurousness as her husband.

[Jan · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is an historical account about Rose de Freycinet, the 'stowaway who sailed around the world for love'. At 19yo she married an older naval officer and became the only female on board his ship of 120 men. The author uses her journal to detail Rose' life. Unfortunately for me, what sounded like a fascinating story it was more of an historical document than a biography. The trip doesn't even start until about seventy pages in. I persevered for quite a while but gave up. A shame the author didn't just tell Rose's story which was a fascinating one.

[Lyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Suzanne Falkiner has done a great job of piecing together the life of Rose, given that she lived the early 1880s and although she left writings, she was constrained by her status and her opportunities. The machinations and politics of exploration and colonisation were interesting, and Rose's voyage certainly exposed her to extremes. This is a very detailed book and takes a while to read, but if you are interested in early Australian history or inspired by brave women, it is well worth the read.

[Chris Kelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was about the extraordinary voyage of Rose De Freycinet around the world for love with her captain husband. It was set in 1814. They sailed on a voyage of scientific discovery to the south seas sailing on remote Australian shores. Very interesting but struggled to finish it. A bit heavy for me.

[Kate Denny · Rating 5 out of 5]

Extraordinary look into an era so heavily male dominated and be able to experience the journey with Rose. I did find it slow reading as there were so many places, people, language and events I was not familiar with but it was definitely worth sticking with it.

[Rosemary · Rating 3 out of 5]

DNF. With that title I was expecting a romantic adventure, or at least for most of the focus to be on Rose. Instead there are occasional quotes from Rose's extensive journal, but otherwise this book reads like a history textbook, albeit a well written one.

[Glenys Bishop · Rating 3 out of 5]

Historically interesting about French exploration of the southern hemisphere in the early 19h century. Supposedly all about Rose the wife of the ship's captain, Freycinet, but quite a bit of detail from the d
diaries and writing of the artist on board as well.

[Nicky · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rather long and detailed But a great historical story all Australians should know

[Sandy Sexton · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fabulous, well-researched biography of Rose Freycinet. Fascinating