Isabella Bird (1831-1904) was an English traveler who made a remarkable series of journeys at the end of the 19th century. Bird was born in the English county of Yorkshire on October 15, 1831. Her father was an Anglican clergyman and her mother was the daughter of a clergyman. Bird was a small woman and suffered from several ailments during her childhood. In 1850 she had an operation to remove a tumor from her spine. The operation was only partially successful, and she suffered from insomnia and depression. Her doctor recommended that she travel, and in 1854 her father gave her 100 pounds and told her she was free to go wherever she wanted. She used it to travel to North America and stayed for several months in eastern Canada and the United States. On her return she used the letters she had written to her sister, Hennie, as the basis for her...