I’m a big fan of reading travel books, magazines and blogs. I scan the travel supplement of the Sunday newspaper every weekend reading about new and exotic travel places to seek adventure. I get excited reading about a place and then visiting it for the first time filling up my sensory organs with new smells, tastes, sounds, sights and sensations. It really is one of life’s rewards.

One of the books that I was recently sent to review was a Lonely Planet edition called “In Her Footsteps” that details where and when trailblazing women changed the world. It’s basically a travel guide of where women made groundbreaking history in their fields of expertise.

In Her Footsteps Book Details

The travel guide, come encyclopedia of trailblazing women, is empowering considering that some of these women existed many centuries before us. If anything it opens your eyes up to how great women in history have impacted on where we stand as women of today. In some cases women put their bodies on the line to achieve the vote, gain sexual equality and receive recognition in their chosen art or expertise.

An example of the book layout

The book is divided into four sections:

1. Activists – Florence Nightingale, Eleanor Roosevelt, Mary Wollstonecraft, Jane Goodall, Helen Keller, Malala Yousafzai, Greta Thunberg and many more.
2. Artists – Frida Kahlo, Emily Dickinson, Beatrix Potter, Virginia Woolf, Emily Bronte,  Cheryl Strayed, Anne Frank, Miles Franklin, Chrissy Amphlett, Mary Shelley, Maya Angelou, Jane Austen and others.
3. Pathbreakers – Rose de Freycinet, Nancy Bird Walton, Benazir Bhutto, Indira Gandhi, Jacinda Ardern, Marie Curie, Cathy Freeman, Annie Oakley and many more.
4. Icons – Eva Peron, Julia Child, Dolly Parton, Catherine The Great, Joan Of Arc, Michelle Obama, Mata Hari and others.

Nancy Bird Walton

Each female trailblazer that has made an imprint on our lives is given a short biography and describes where in the world you may find monuments or landmarks where they lived or worked. In the preface to the book it is described as “an alternative travel guide to the world: one which documents the impact of incredible women from all walks of life.” There are women of all genres, including Indigenous people, chanteuses, suffragettes, athletes, environmentalists, spies, pirates, queens, aviators, adventurers, scientists and activists.

Australian Trailblazers

Of particular interest to me were Australian women that earned a mention in the book. Here is a list of them and where you can visit to see where they made a difference:

• Mum Shirl -Aboriginal Activist and Social Worker. A commemorative plaque in St Vincent de Paul Catholic Church in Redfern, Sydney.
• Emily Kame Kngwarreye – Aboriginal Artist. See some of her famous works of art at Mbantua Gallery in Alice Springs.
• Miles Franklin (Stella Maria Sarah Miles Franklin) – Writer (My Brilliant Career) and Feminist. Visit her family home of Brindabella Station in the Snowy Mountains in New South Wales.
• Marianne North – Botanical Artist. See the Marianne North Tree within Warren National Park near Pemberton in West Australia.
• Chrissy Amphlett – Singer/Songwriter of The Divinyls. Chrissy is honoured in Melbourne where she once lived with a laneway.
• Rose de Freycinet – Adventurer and journalist. See Rose’s diary of her three year trip around the world on her husband’s expedition vessel, at the State Library in Sydney.
• Nancy Bird Walton – Pilot and ‘Angel of the Outback’. Nancy’s ashes were scattered at the Luskintyre Airfield in the Hunter region of New South Wales.
• Cathy Freeman – Aboriginal Olympic Athlete. Visit the sculpture of Cathy at Cathy Freeman Park on the grounds of Olympic Park in Sydney, where she won gold for Australia in the 400m sprint.
• Truganini – Indigenous Ambassador and Guerrilla Fighter. Explore her birthplace on Bruny Island, Tasmania where there is a lookout named after her. Or see Truganini’s portrait in the National Portrait Gallery in Parkes, Canberra.

More Trailblazing Women Information

At the end of each chapter there are also some lists, including:

• The Top Ten Blue Plaques of notable figures in London, England.
• 12 Feminist Bookstores around the world.
• 10 Female Pirates and their favourite haunts.
• 4 Sites for Goddess Worship.
• 10 Queer Pioneers.

In Her Footsteps Book Summary

I found “In Her Footsteps” book to be incredibly interesting and educational. There were women’s names in the book that I’d never heard of. It made me extremely proud to learn about their lives and how they unselfishly held fast to their ideals and ultimately changed the world. Many women have been overlooked for too long so it was refreshing to read a book that celebrates some of our household names, and other not so well known female trailblazers.

It’s also opened up a whole new selection of bucket list items of places in the world that I would now love to see! Wouldn’t it be wonderful to travel the world seeking out these important landmarks?

The first edition book is hardcover with 287 pages that are easy to read, and then to put the back down, to be picked up at a later date. It would make a perfect coffee table book and interesting conversation piece with friends. You can purchase the book for around $35 AUD (Dymocks), at some of the good bookstores in Australia or online at Booktopia or Amazon.