This riveting novel tells the story of Isabelle, a beautiful child, who grows up in the tempestuous city of Bombay. It takes readers through Isabelle's emotional roller-coaster of a journey - her childhood, her starry-eyed romance, the killing of innocence as she endures a traumatic marriage, and her final tryst with true love in Canada. The book is richly evocative and entertaining in its portrayal of Bombay. But saddened by the overwhelming poverty, depressed over the disparities and contradictions of society, and disappointed by the taboos of colour and gender, Isabelle leaves her people and the city she loves to migrate to Canada, a new land. Incredibly, two celestial beings follow and guide Isabelle, from above and afar, throughout her life. They don't intervene actively but subtly guide her toward contentment and love. The real merges with the surreal. Caution: You may not be able to put this book down! You won't forget Isabelle - her joys, her pain and torment, her love, her devotion to her family and her sacrifices for it. And you will envy Isabelle for her two cosmic Samaritans! In sum, Colleen Ansley's debut novel is a gem! - S R Madhu, writer-editor, Chennai, India
Lady Burton began her autobiography a few months before she died, but in consequence of rapidly failing health she made little progress with it. After her death, which occurred in the spring of last year, it seemed good to her sister and executrix, Mrs. Fitzgerald, to entrust the unfinished manuscript to me, together with sundry papers and letters, with a view to my compiling the biography. Mrs. Fitzgerald wished me to undertake this work, as I had the good fortune to be a friend of the late Lady Burton, and one with whom she frequently discussed literary matters; we were, in fact, thinking of writing a romance together, but her illness prevented us. The task of compiling this book has not been an easy one, mainly for two reasons. In the first place, though Lady Burton published comparatively little, she was a voluminous writer, and she left behind her such a mass of letters and manuscripts that the sorting of them alone was a formidable task. The difficulty has been to keep the book within limits. In the second place, Lady Burton has written the Life of her husband; and though in that book she studiously avoided putting herself forward, and gave to him all the honour and the glory, her life was so absolutely bound up with his, that of necessity she covered some of the ground which I have had to go over again, though not from the same point of view. So much has been written concerning Sir Richard Burton that it is not necessary for me to tell again the story of his life here, and I have therefore been able to write wholly of his wife, an equally congenial task. Lady Burton was as remarkable as a woman as her husband was as a man. Her personality was as picturesque, her individuality as unique, and, allowing for her sex, her life was as full and varied as his. It has been my aim, wherever possible, throughout this book to let Lady Burton tell the story of her life in her own words, and keep my narrative in the background. To this end I have revised and incorporated the fragment of autobiography which was cut short by her death, and I have also pieced together all her letters, manuscripts, and journals which have a bearing on her travels and adventures. I have striven to give a faithful portrait of her as revealed by herself. In what I have succeeded, the credit is hers alone: in what I have failed, the fault is mine, for no biographer could have wished for a more eloquent subject than this interesting and fascinating woman. Thus, however imperfectly I may have done my share of the work, it remains the record of a good and noble life—a life lifted up, a life unique in its self-sacrifice and devotion.
Larz and Isabel Anderson were wealthy socialites whose extraordinary lives spanned a century of American historyfrom the Civil War to World War II. Their world included dozens of celebrities who helped define modern culture and politics: Henry and Clover Adams, Alice Pike Barney, Cecilia Beaux, Lord and Lady Curzon, Maud Howe Elliott, Henry James, Isabella Stewart Gardner, Robert Todd Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, John Singer Sargent, and William Howard Taft. In his dual biography based on six years of archival research, Stephen Moskey offers a fresh look into Americas Gilded Age while focusing not just on the lives of the Andersons, but also on the intersection of wealth, celebrity, politics, gender, and race as one century ended and another began. While leading others back in time, Moskey shines a light on Larzs professional achievements as well as Isabels emergence as an American woman of the early modern era whose words and deeds anticipated womens roles in culture and society today. Larz and Isabel Anderson shares the story of a glittering Gilded Age couple as they lived, worked, prospered, and gave back during a fascinating time in Americas history.
An "extraordinary biography" (New York Times Book Review) of a brilliant pair of adventurers. Their marriage was both improbable and inevitable. Isabel Arundell was a schoolgirl, the scion of England's most distinguished Catholic family. When she first saw him while walking at a seaside resort, Richard Burton had already made his mark as a linguist (he was fluent in twenty-nine languages), scholar, soldier, and explorer--at once a symbol of Victorian England's vision of empire and an avowed rebel against its mores. When she turned and saw him staring after her, she decided that she would marry him. By their next meeting, Burton had become the first infidel to infiltrate Mecca as one of the faithful, and, in an expedition to discover the source of the Nile, would soon be the first white man to see Lake Tanganyika. After being married, the Burtons traveled and experienced the world, from diplomatic postings in Brazil and Africa to hair-raising adventures in the Syrian desert. In later life Richard courted further controversy as a self-proclaimed erotologist and the translator of The Kama Sutra. Based on previously unavailable archives, Mary Lovell has written a compelling joint biography that sets Isabel in her proper place as Burton's equal in daring and endurance, a fascinating figure in her own right.
"The Romance of Isabel Lady Burton: The Story of Her Life, Volume I" by Lady Isabel Burton and W. H. Wilkins offers a fascinating glimpse into the life of one of the 19th century's most intriguing figures. This first volume of Lady Isabel Burton's autobiography chronicles her adventurous and tumultuous life, providing a richly detailed account of her experiences and relationships. As the wife of the renowned explorer Richard Francis Burton, Lady Isabel Burton's life was marked by travel, exploration, and high society engagements. Her memoir, co-authored with W. H. Wilkins, delves into her personal experiences and the challenges she faced as an influential figure in Victorian society. The narrative captures the essence of her remarkable journey, including her travels through exotic locales, her involvement in her husband’s expeditions, and the complexities of their partnership. "The Romance of Isabel Lady Burton" not only provides historical insights but also explores the emotional and social dimensions of her life. It reveals the personal and public facets of Lady Isabel's character, making it a captivating read for those interested in biographies, historical exploration, and the lives of prominent women of the era. This volume serves as an engaging introduction to a life filled with adventure, passion, and resilience, setting the stage for further exploration in subsequent volumes.
