Marianne North was not ready to settle down. At age forty-one, she found herself alone and uninterested in the domestic trappings of Victorian life. Soshe packed her paints and set off for North America. Her 1871 trip marked the start of a remarkable life of travel and artistry that would put her among the greatest of the world s naturalists.
After the death of her beloved father, North made a fearless decision to venture out on her own something few women dared to do at the time with a goal of recording as many tropical and exotic plants as possible. Taking a different approach than the...

In Life As I Know It, Michelle Payne tells her deeply moving story. It will lift your spirits, stir your heart and give you courage.Michelle was six months old, the youngest of eleven children, when the family was hit with the tragic death of their mother, Mary. Their father, Paddy, a renowned horseman, raised his children alone. As a family, they all took on the daily demands of racehorses and a dairy farm as well as school and work. Family meant everything.Michelle was put on a horse aged four. At five years old her dream was to win the Melbourne Cup. At thirty she rode into history...