The Virago book of women travellers

foreshadows her descriptions of the French countryside in later novels. Other authors are�also active participants in the culture they are visiting: Leila Philip harvests rice with chiding Japanese women, and Emily Carr wins the respect and trust of the female chieftain of an Indian village in Northern Canada. Whether it is curiosity about the world, a thirst for adventure, or a need for escape from personal tragedy, all of the authors are united by their wit, intelligence, compassion, and the empathy they hold for the lives of those they encounter along the way.