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Gr 3-5 David-Neel was one of a small group of intrepid women who defied convention to become bold travelers in remote areas of the world. In fact, even as a child, she looked for adventure beyond the confines of her Victorian household. As an opera singer, she traveled to many far-off places, but she eventually married and settled down in Tunis. Her true adventures began in 1911 when, with her husband's blessings, she set out for Asia and was gone for 14 years. Th...Log In or Sign Up to Read More

Brown's latest biography introduces Alexandra David-Neel, the intrepid traveler whose childhood fascination with the unknown eventually led her to the "wild hills, immense deserted steppes, and impassable landscapes of glaciers" she had always dreamed of. The book opens with a dramatic double-page spread of Dokar Pass in the Himalaya Mountains. Amidst a barren, snowy landscape, two shrouded figures are the same beige-gray as the formidable boulders that rise ghostlike out of the snow. The text indicates Alexandra's joy: "May all things be happy!" she shouts. Beyond Dokar Pass, Alexandra and her friend Yongden (a Tibetan who, as a teenage...Log In or Sign Up to Read More