When asked in 1879 why she wanted to travel to such an outlandish place as Patagonia, the author replied without hesitation that she was taking to the saddle in order to flee from the strict confines of polite Victorian society. "Palled with civilization and its surroundings, I wanted to escape to some place where I might be as far removed from them as possible. A longing grows up within one to taste a more vigorous emotion than that afforded by the monotonous round of society's so-called pleasures," Dixie wrote. "Riding Across Patagonia" tells the story of how the aristocrat successfully...

Weary of her life in English society, during 1878-1879 Dixie travelled with her husband, two of her brothers and Julius Beerbohm in Patagonia in South America. There, she hunted big game and ate it with gusto. On one occasion, while riding on the prairie, her party was overtaken by a huge prairie fire, and her horse bolted with her. On her return to England, Dixie wrote her book Across Patagonia, which discussed Dixie's observations of the country and its inhabitants. Lady Dixie also shared her observations of Patagonia with Charles Darwin. Lady Dixie sent Darwin a copy of Across Patagonia;...