"This little-known gem by the doyenne of women travellers in the East describes a journey on horseback through the Himalayas and into Tibet, where she spent four months. Enchanted by the Tibetans whom she found 'the pleasantest of people', Bird's is a delightful account of a land of beauty and mystery, encircled by high mountains of vermillion and purple. Among the most striking passages are those that describe the religion of Tibet, which permeated...

In 1878, a decade after Japan was launched into the world of modern nations by the Meiji restoration of 1868, Isabella Lucy Bird set off alone to explore the interior. Ninety years ago Japan was still a mysterious country to Westerners. Miss Bird must have presented a fearsome sight to Japanese villagers when she came into view clad in American mountain dress and Wellington boots. However the country people liked her. She took off her boots before...