Book Review

In Search of the Woman who
Sailed the World

A book by Danielle Clode

A voyage of discovery, nature and untold histories - in the vein of Clare Wright, Edmund de Waal and Helen Macdonald. An ode to the sea, to science and to one remarkable woman who, like all explorers, charted her own course for others to follow.

Jeanne Barret, an impoverished peasant from Burgundy, disguised herself as a man and sailed on the 1766 Bougainville voyage as the naturalist's assistant. She would become the first woman to circumnavigate the world completing her journey in 1776 she returned home without any fanfare at all.

For over two centuries, the story of who this young woman was, why she left her home to undertake such a perilous journey and what happened when she returned has been shrouded in uncertainty. Unacknowledged and excluded from the world of general historical adventure literature, let alone any form of recognition in the world of botanical science, a realm of study where her sizeable contribution is arguably paralleled only by the likes of Darwin.

What is undeniable is this – the story of Jeanne Barret has been written out of history. As a woman, Jeanne Barret’s was scattered across notes in the journals and accounts of others. She left behind little trace of her own great adventure.

However great stories are difficult to suppress and in the last ten years three books have been researched and published in an attempt to place Barret where she rightly deserves to be – recognised as the first woman to circumnavigate the globe, disguised as a man, in her role as Assistant botantist to Philibert Commerson.

Often compared to Darwin, Commerson cited he had been unable to find anyone suitable to assist him and out of desperation, at the very last minute, chose a young man standing on the dock. What Commerson concealed was the fact the man was a woman, his lover, his co-worker, co-researcher and locally known as a ‘herb woman’. Meaning, she had some rather helpful knowledge.

Bougainville’s route around the world. }A note accompanying the mid-ocean placement of the Solomon Islands states that both their existence and location are in doubt. The map’s longitude is measured from Paris, France, emphasizing the national nature of mapmaking at this time.
(Greenwich, England, was not internationally adopted as the prime meridian until 1884.)

The ETOILE departed France in 1776, a 102ft x 33ft French Naval Vessel, Captained by Louis Antoine de Bougainville. Jeanne’s official role was to be by the side of Commerson as he observed, collected and documented thousands of new world, botanical specimens.  It was to be the first and greatest voyage of scientific discovery. Well-funded and well-resourced with vast supplies and a need for space, Commerson and his Assistant would be given the Captain’s cabin with its own bathroom. However Commerson’s health deteriorated rapidly and it would be Jeanne who undertook the bulk of the work. It would also be Jeanne who would name the splashy, raucous, brightness of a tropical plant after Bougainville.

Such is the set-up of the Jeanne’s world. Indeed, this is a story of gender, empire, natural history and the lure of the ocean.

Monsieur Bougainville Hoisting the French Colours on a Small Rock
Near Cape Forward in the Straights of Magellan.

For those who have received emails from me in my capacities outside of SWS, you may have noticed my signature states ‘I write stories about girls as explorers, on an adventure.’ So, everything about this title sits so sweetly in my wheel-house.

The story is brilliant and no doubt if one could find a producer not adverse to the associated costs of period drama, In Search of the Woman who Sailed the World would make a fantastic film. Clode’s twist of phrase, her passion for her heroine, for sailing and the 18th centuary are never in question. Having discovered her voice, I am very keen to read a number of her other titles.

The story is brilliant … However what I found difficult to grasp was the genre. I found myself second guessing and fact checking. Was what I was reading from documented research or rather assertions and extrapolations linked by the imagination of my author?

Is this book the nonfiction account of a small ‘unknown treasure’ or a dramatic fiction, dotted with occasional facts.

It is the later. Clode’s ability to join dots and give life to those who no longer remain and whose footprint is so slim is charming, she eagerly invites us in to think and become an observer.

Once I placed to one side my need to be able to factually substantiate every detail, I took a moment to wonder where this need comes from. I was reminded of the quote – History is written by the victors. When it comes to documented history of the last millenia, the victors have no doubt been men. I do not write this from a place of anger or a place of sadness. Just a place of truth. Every day we are surrounded by simple reminders. Take a moment to check out What Paintings Say – 100 Masterpieces in Detail. and I hope you too are left speechless when you discover only one painting out of 100 was made by a woman (I digress).

The fact remains, Jeanne Barett did get on that ship. She did undertake the bulk of the work throughout the voyage. After a stint in Madagascar she did return to France a wealth woman. She was not officially lauded by the scientific community or by the King, who would benefit from her accumulated knowledge. She was not given honorary degrees.

And I am left wondering….if Louis Antoine De Bougainville had been Louisa…

EDITOR // Sal Balharrie

PRAISE FOR 
IN SEARCH OF THE WOMAN SAILED THE WORLD

'Seamlessly weaving together memoir, history and science ... a fascinating and deeply affecting exploration of voyaging, women's lives, and the stories we tell and the stories we don't.' James Bradley

'Biologist, historian, writer, Clode once again demonstrates the connectedness of everything - animals, land, people, plants, sea, sky - at a time when, more than ever, we should be acutely aware of it.' Gay Lynch

'A joy to read, simple yet elegant, it whispers in your ear like the sea murmuring from within a shell.' Kristin Weidenbach

'Danielle Clode unties the knots of myth and weaves a fascinating story of discovery; Jeanne Barret is one of history's most enigmatic explorers.' Nick Brodie

'Clode brings a scientific rigour and a celebration of natural history to the biography of this important woman.' Stephanie Parkyn

SWS SAYS SUPPORT INDEPENDENT BOOKSELLERS
In Search of the Woman Who Sailed the World is available from Readings.

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