Marianne North was not ready to settle down. At age forty-one, she found herself alone and uninterested in the domestic trappings of Victorian life. So she packed her paints and set off for North America. Her 1871 trip marked the start of a remarkable life of travel and artistry that would put her among the greatest of the world's naturalists.
After the death of her beloved father, North made a fearless decision to venture out on her own--something...