Passionate Quests: Five Modern Women Travellers

Melchett, an English writer, chronicles the exploits of five contemporary women travelers. Dervla Murphy and Christina Dodwell are intrepid travelers to exotic and remote places; Elaine Brook is a mountain climber; Monica Kristensen is a scientist who retraced Amundsen's route to the South Pole; and Clare Francis is a sailor who has competed in the famous Whitbread Round the World Race. We are not spared descriptions of their difficulties: physical hardships, problems with local authorities, failure to reach certain goals (Kristensen had to turn back before reaching the South Pole), depression. These women are distinguished by their single-mindedness and courage, and by their strong sense of self. Men play roles in their lives (the spur to Dodwell's travels was a failed romance), but they do not dominate. Melchett borrows copiously from the subjects' own works, occasionally paraphrasing at length when direct quotes would have been more interesting, and her own style is a bit cumbersome. Still, the book is worthwhile for the exposure it provides to these inspiring women, who believe the journey itself to be most important, and the destination, if indeed there is one, only secondary. (Apr.)