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Wild Women: A collection of first-hand accounts from female explorers
From Constantinople to Crimea, from Antarctica to the Andes, women throughout history have travelled across land and sea and recorded their adventures. This is a collection of more than 50 of the greatest escapades ever experienced and told by women.
Curated by Mariella Frostrup, these works span the globe from the 1700s to the present day and include well-known heroines such as Isabella Bird, Dervla Murphy and Cheryl Straid as well as unknown and undiscovered adventurers.
Curated by Mariella Frostrup, these works span the globe from the 1700s to the present day and include well-known heroines such as Isabella Bird, Dervla Murphy and Cheryl Straid as well as unknown and undiscovered adventurers.
- GenresTravelNonfictionFeminism
544 pages, Paperback
Published February 14, 2023
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425 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
November 19, 2020
I love adventure and travel writing books, getting into them about 2016 starting with Jon Krakaeur's "Into the Wild". From there, the majority of adventure/hiking/mountaineering accounts I could locate were centred around men so I was thrilled to find this recently published book, Wild Women - an anthology of female adventurers exploring the world from the 1800s to now.
HOWEVER, I have found it to be the perfect example of eurocentric whiteness. The gaze of the overwhelming white women included in this book often repeats the tired positioning of the 'other as exotic'. This positioning centres white people as the 'knowers', the 'subjects' - those who have the power to act, who are civilised, and liberally exercise their white saviorism, and see others in the countries they visited as mere curiosities, as bodies of anthropological interest and nothing more, as uncultured and "simple minded" (a phrase actually contained in the book as one woman describe Icelandic peoples). This theme was inherent throughout this book - only absent from the section on Antarctica in which there was no one around for the white woman to direct her gaze of superiority. While I acknowledge that this writing reflects the time period in which it was written, the editor should have exercised her critical muscles in excluding these narratives from her book.
Further, I refuse to believe that in the history of time, there were little to no records of women of colour hiking and adventuring. The editor of this novel could not control the writings of those who have already published their journeys and the racist ways in which they wrote, however they certainly had control over which passages to include and whose voices to centre. And the racism in their choice was quite evidence. If indeed, there are absolutely little-to-no stories from BIPOC women from the 19th/early 20th century, the editor should have considered WHY this was and made a statement about the limitations of this book. The women depicted in this book experienced unsafety in some spaces due to their existence in a patriarchal world, however the very fact that they were able to travel so extensively speaks to their privilege as white. Of the 50+ women featured in this book, very very very very few were not white (and there were also very many of high wealth - which enabled their desire to travel across the world).
White, classist "feminism" is not feminism at all. The white women in these books overwhelmingly saw themselves as entitled to any space, as whiteness has taught them that they should. In this way, they centred themselves more alongside white men than women. This theme is certainly reflective of the society in which we currently find ourselves, yet I don't believe this critical perspective was the intention of the editor. I identify as a white woman and hold myself responsible for not better seeking out more intersectional perspectives in travel writing (I have since become aware of the "Adventure Gap" regarding white/BIPOC adventurers), however I remain disappointed that this book did not deliver in providing these perspectives with the claim that it represented all women.
HOWEVER, I have found it to be the perfect example of eurocentric whiteness. The gaze of the overwhelming white women included in this book often repeats the tired positioning of the 'other as exotic'. This positioning centres white people as the 'knowers', the 'subjects' - those who have the power to act, who are civilised, and liberally exercise their white saviorism, and see others in the countries they visited as mere curiosities, as bodies of anthropological interest and nothing more, as uncultured and "simple minded" (a phrase actually contained in the book as one woman describe Icelandic peoples). This theme was inherent throughout this book - only absent from the section on Antarctica in which there was no one around for the white woman to direct her gaze of superiority. While I acknowledge that this writing reflects the time period in which it was written, the editor should have exercised her critical muscles in excluding these narratives from her book.
Further, I refuse to believe that in the history of time, there were little to no records of women of colour hiking and adventuring. The editor of this novel could not control the writings of those who have already published their journeys and the racist ways in which they wrote, however they certainly had control over which passages to include and whose voices to centre. And the racism in their choice was quite evidence. If indeed, there are absolutely little-to-no stories from BIPOC women from the 19th/early 20th century, the editor should have considered WHY this was and made a statement about the limitations of this book. The women depicted in this book experienced unsafety in some spaces due to their existence in a patriarchal world, however the very fact that they were able to travel so extensively speaks to their privilege as white. Of the 50+ women featured in this book, very very very very few were not white (and there were also very many of high wealth - which enabled their desire to travel across the world).
White, classist "feminism" is not feminism at all. The white women in these books overwhelmingly saw themselves as entitled to any space, as whiteness has taught them that they should. In this way, they centred themselves more alongside white men than women. This theme is certainly reflective of the society in which we currently find ourselves, yet I don't believe this critical perspective was the intention of the editor. I identify as a white woman and hold myself responsible for not better seeking out more intersectional perspectives in travel writing (I have since become aware of the "Adventure Gap" regarding white/BIPOC adventurers), however I remain disappointed that this book did not deliver in providing these perspectives with the claim that it represented all women.
March 4, 2021
A comprehensive and fascinating collection of essays, letters and observations by 50 women through history who broke with tradition and trail blazed every corner of the world....a virtual world tour of the most splendid kind.
November 3, 2020
The idea is fantastic, every single bit of Mariella's writing is entertaining and poignant, and some of the extracts/stories are fantastic. The ones from Antarctica stand out in my memory.
However, the structure didn't really work for me - I bored after the first couple of continents.
I would much have preferred longer extracts or longer biographies / Mariella's thoughts on the writings rather than some of the older travel writing that was frankly a bore to read.
Each to their own, but I finish it disappointed.
However, the structure didn't really work for me - I bored after the first couple of continents.
I would much have preferred longer extracts or longer biographies / Mariella's thoughts on the writings rather than some of the older travel writing that was frankly a bore to read.
Each to their own, but I finish it disappointed.
January 17, 2022
I found this one difficult to rank - I've given it a 4 because it was an overall good read and I love the idea of compiling women's stories of all kinds of travel.
However to get the criticism out of the way:
First up, of course as in any anthology of this kind, some stories will appeal more than others and in my opinion some stories were far better and far more interesting than others. Some of my faves won't be other people's. But I guess that's to be expected.
I was a little disappointed in some of the choices.
In particular, an editorial problem - the "Australia" section has five pieces in it. Two are about Australia. Two are about New Zealand which isn't technically in Australia but I can see why it is put in there as it's about the closest section any NZ writing would go in. Shouldn't it then be labelled "Australasia". The fifth piece was on Afghanistan. Afghanistan? Um, why is this not in the Asia section ...
On to the positives - writing about adventurous women and travel from a women's perspective is a great idea. There was a nice variety of voices and ideas for essays, with wonder, humour and insight. There were achievements, there were observations. I noticed two essays that did a comparison of racial stereotypes and had no problem strongly disparaging one country's people - interesting that this was a thing, perhaps indicative of perspectives of essayists of the time (the Londoner vs the French, the Japanese vs the Chinese).
I would say my favourite section was the one with the fewest essays - Antarctica. This showed how beautifully done a section could be when it is short but well selected. Three essays captured a perfect variety - the spirit of adventure and achievement, the marvelling at the natural beauty and environment of the place, and a great piece of humour and insight into humanity, discussing what it took to survive in Antarctica.
I've already said that I felt the Australia section was organised badly but the first two essays were absolutely great in their writing - the life of on the NZ sheep station was startling and visceral and I loved "Tracks".
While South America was probably my least favourite section, the piece on the Galapagos Islands by Annie Dillard was amazing and really thoughtful. "Wild" by Cheryl Strayed was probably my favourite North American essay, describing the adventures of a hiker living their life from penny to penny.
These are just a few of the stand-outs to me. It was harder to choose out of the Europe, Asia and Africa pieces. It was definitely a book worth reading - and one you could dip into though I read it from cover to cover.
However to get the criticism out of the way:
First up, of course as in any anthology of this kind, some stories will appeal more than others and in my opinion some stories were far better and far more interesting than others. Some of my faves won't be other people's. But I guess that's to be expected.
I was a little disappointed in some of the choices.
In particular, an editorial problem - the "Australia" section has five pieces in it. Two are about Australia. Two are about New Zealand which isn't technically in Australia but I can see why it is put in there as it's about the closest section any NZ writing would go in. Shouldn't it then be labelled "Australasia". The fifth piece was on Afghanistan. Afghanistan? Um, why is this not in the Asia section ...
On to the positives - writing about adventurous women and travel from a women's perspective is a great idea. There was a nice variety of voices and ideas for essays, with wonder, humour and insight. There were achievements, there were observations. I noticed two essays that did a comparison of racial stereotypes and had no problem strongly disparaging one country's people - interesting that this was a thing, perhaps indicative of perspectives of essayists of the time (the Londoner vs the French, the Japanese vs the Chinese).
I would say my favourite section was the one with the fewest essays - Antarctica. This showed how beautifully done a section could be when it is short but well selected. Three essays captured a perfect variety - the spirit of adventure and achievement, the marvelling at the natural beauty and environment of the place, and a great piece of humour and insight into humanity, discussing what it took to survive in Antarctica.
I've already said that I felt the Australia section was organised badly but the first two essays were absolutely great in their writing - the life of on the NZ sheep station was startling and visceral and I loved "Tracks".
While South America was probably my least favourite section, the piece on the Galapagos Islands by Annie Dillard was amazing and really thoughtful. "Wild" by Cheryl Strayed was probably my favourite North American essay, describing the adventures of a hiker living their life from penny to penny.
These are just a few of the stand-outs to me. It was harder to choose out of the Europe, Asia and Africa pieces. It was definitely a book worth reading - and one you could dip into though I read it from cover to cover.
January 20, 2020
FYI my copy of this is less than 600 pages, including endnotes. I'm not sure where the 800 pages noted here came from. Anyway, it was an entertaining sampling of so many brave, accomplished women. Very fun to read.
February 20, 2022
I enjoyed this but would have preferred more commentary on women's life and adventures rather than a brief paragraph. The anthologies I did enjoy have spurred me on to read more about the fascinating women. Which is a positive.
October 18, 2020
Been reading this off and on since before lockdown. V much a dip-in-and-out book for me, and some really interesting stories - already have two books out from the library to read more.
June 25, 2021
Excellent read recommend
December 29, 2022
3.5 haven’t finished yet
November 23, 2024
Delightful!!
December 14, 2024
amazing stories of women forgotten, great to dip into.
December 31, 2024
This book was a lovely and thoughtful gift. A few wonderful stories but some dull ones too. Just too long for me.
June 19, 2020
I loved the format of this book - each chapter was a part of a book / diary / story of 50 different amazing women set out by continent. Each of the 50 started with an introduction to the woman writer including when she was alive and a short précis of her life and adventures plus the name of the book that the chapter in this book was from. They were a real mixed bunch.
I had only read one of the books before and had only heard of a few of these women but wow did they have adventures. They do, as Mariella Frostrup says in the introduction, deserve to be more widely known.
The time periods for each women adventure varied from 17-something to a couple of years ago which was interesting too. I found 49 of the 50 great reading and now I have read it, will use the list of the books included as a list of other books I want to read to hear more about these womens adventures.
I had only read one of the books before and had only heard of a few of these women but wow did they have adventures. They do, as Mariella Frostrup says in the introduction, deserve to be more widely known.
The time periods for each women adventure varied from 17-something to a couple of years ago which was interesting too. I found 49 of the 50 great reading and now I have read it, will use the list of the books included as a list of other books I want to read to hear more about these womens adventures.
July 29, 2020
I have to love the idea behind this book - Frostrup has created a celebration of 50 female adventures/travellers who have otherwise been overlooked and forgotten. Each chapter is an extract from a different female authored book, ranging from the 1700s to the modern day, I was transported across time and geography.
Of course not everyone was to my taste, I chose to skip over some I was not enjoying and because each chapter is from a different book it was difficult to really get into it. However, I have added substantially to my TBR list 😬😬 If you are a women who loves the outdoors and adventure this is 100% a book for you!
Of course not everyone was to my taste, I chose to skip over some I was not enjoying and because each chapter is from a different book it was difficult to really get into it. However, I have added substantially to my TBR list 😬😬 If you are a women who loves the outdoors and adventure this is 100% a book for you!
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews