Marie Brennan

There is a famous photograph, taken in 1921, which shows Gertrude Bell on a camel beneath the Great Sphinx of Giza. On one side of her, on his own camel, sits T.E. Lawrence; on the other, Winston Churchill.

It is this spirit of the pre-modern women explorer, challenging expected conventions and prejudices, that permeates the memoirs of Lady Trent. The main fault that you could find with it is that the attitudes of its protagonist are a bit too modern. Isabella Camherst may be constantly pushing and breaking the boundaries of what her own culture allows, but she is too good to be true in her respect for, and by and large acceptance of, the values of other cultures. It is a very 21st century mindset.

That said, her willingness to absorb does allow for a wonderful description of the other cultures she encounters. The author clearly had fun with the people of Eriga, very obviously inspired by Africa, and from her background as an anthropologist she is using the opportunity to teach us something. The discoveries of the intrepid adventurer are also discoveries for the reader, in a double-layered disguise.

Is to the plot of the story itself, it has a good mixture of stunning grandeur and down-to-earth everyday events, which lends its credibility, despite some plot twists that are bit unlikely. And if Isabella gets unwittingly and unwillingly dragged into politics, that has an air of veracity to it.… (mais)