Recollections Of A Happy Life

This is a two-volume autobiography of Victorian amateur botanist Marianne North, edited by her sister. North travelled to distant countries to paint exotic flora in their natural surroundings, enduring swarms of insects, scaling cliffs, and trudging through wilderness in order to reach the plants she wanted to paint. Her journals reveal the stories behind her art, which can still be appreciated today. North bequeathed her vivid paintings to Kew Gardens, where they are on display.

Marianne North (1830-90), the Victorian amateur botanist and painter, travelled to distant countries of the world to paint exotic flora in their natural surroundings. This two-volume collection of her memoirs, edited by her sister and published in 1892, records North's remarkable travels. Laden with her palettes and easels, the independent North travelled alone and fended for herself. Her journals describe how she endured swarms of insects, scaled cliffs, trudged through wilderness and crossed swamps in order to reach the plants she wanted to paint. Volume 1 covers North's early upbringing and the origins of her enthusiasm for nature, and traces her travels through Canada and the United States, Jamaica, Brazil, Japan, Borneo, India and Sri Lanka. This fascinating autobiography reveals the stories behind North's art, which can still be appreciated today since she bequeathed her vivid paintings to Kew Gardens, where they are on display.