Dublin, Dec 26th: On drawing the thick, long curtains tonight, I was glad to see the snow thawing quickly and the accompanying ice, fast giving way to slush and pools of water. I can't wait to be outdoors in warmer weather very soon.
I am eager for the bookshops to reopen their doors, after the recent Christmas break, that I may plunge with relish, into pleasurable quiet afternoons.
Once more, I shall stride eagerly to the bookshelves that wait with the accustomed patience of a saint, to surprise me with intriguing routes for inspiration and self-discovery.
This, from peering happily at titles that line the spines of exciting book covers and dreaming strange breathtaking dreams, lest a pirate befall me with songs of tragedy or misfortune and a mermaid slyly cajole me back to sanity.
My first purchase order this week, shall be a work of European history, an impressive new biography I discovered today, on the web.
The brilliant author, Glynis Ridley, tackles the remarkable expedition of Jeanne Baret, in The Discovery of Jeanne Baret, (Random House, Hardcover, 304 pages Dec 28,2010, USD$25).
The fearless Baret, a French botanist lived out her wiles rather dramatically and daringly in the 18th century. She was after all, the first woman to sail around the globe, happily disguised as a 25-year old male assistant to her secret lover, the Royal Botanist and Naturalist Philibert Commerson, earlier commissioned for an overseas expedition, that involved the painstaking collection of botanical specimens.
Still, Ridley writes that even after much practice at masculine tendencies and gestures at the marketplaces in Paris, Baret's identity would be held without a moment's hesitation, in strong suspicion by her shipmates - one of whom chose not to like her - a fortnight after sailing on the high seas.
On reaching Tahiti, the Tahitians became immensely curious. This led to further uncomfortable episodes that involved one probing Tahitian and the truth was finally revealed.
What I find so alluring is the seductive air of mystery, that lingers throughout and the prolonged if not, slightly flamboyant adventures of the lady, who received the marvellous blessing of having tasted the lure of the high seas.
