A Woman's Walks

A book of exploration and discovery, celebrating the 175th anniversary of The London Library.

From young men seeking outdoor adventure to intrepid ladies of a certain age discovering other cultures, Victorian explorers were starting to develop a more personal kind of travelogue. In A Woman's Walks, Lady Colin Campbell takes us on a voyage of exploration through her inner landscape - as well as through Italy, France, Switzerland, Austro-Hungary, London, and the English countryside.

The books in "Found on the Shelves" have been chosen to give a fascinating insight into the treasures that can be found while browsing in The London Library. Now celebrating its 175th anniversary, with over seventeen miles of shelving and more than a million books, The London Library has become an unrivalled archive of the modes, manners and thoughts of each generation which has helped to form it.

From essays on dieting in the 1860s to instructions for gentlewomen on trout-fishing, from advice on the ill health caused by the "modern" craze of bicycling to travelogues from Norway, they are as readable and relevant today as they were more than a century ago.

Auteur

Lady Colin Campbell (née Gertrude Elizabeth Blood) was best known for the divorce scandal which shocked Victorian society. After four years of marriage, she sued for divorce on grounds of her husband's infidelity and cruelty. Lord Colin alleged that his wife had committed adultery with at least four men. No divorce was obtained, and she became a successful writer and editor.