The Happy Life of a Wild Bird
Marianne North 1830-1890. I came across the story of Marianne North when I was researching Victorian plant hunters. To say that the Victorians were passionate about plants is an under statement. In true Victorian fashion everything was bigger than life and done and often over done with a flourish! It's the adventurous spirit, the enthusiasm, that I admire about this time period and it's what I found to be inspiring about Marianne. This was a woman who dared to have an unconventional, exciting life in a time when women did not have a lot of choices. Frederick North, Marianne's father, was a member of parliament. He traveled extensively throughout Europe and the Middle East and Marianne was his traveling companion. Early on in her life Marianne came to believe that "marriage was a terrible experiment" of which women became nothing more than an "upper servant." She was gifted in music and painting and very interested in botany. While they were in ...