The Atlas of Women Explorers

Follow the fascinating voyages of 18 courageous women who defied convention to follow their dreams and explore the world.

From Amelia Earhart to Isabelle Bird, Freya Stark to Laura Dekker, these 18 women broke the rules, took the road less traveled, and went that extra mile to win their own freedom. This beautifully illustrated and information-packed atlas tells their stories, following them across the globe on bike or sailboat, planes and trains, as they pass through Australian deserts, Asian tundra, to the mountaintops, and even into space. Among the daring, audacious voyagers:

• Jeanne Baret (1740-1807), who disguised herself as a man to circumnavigate the globe
• Ida Pfeiffer (1797-1858), who made friends with cannibals on the island of Sumatra
• Isabella Lucy Bird (1831-1904), a writer who smashed taboos as she climbed mountains and volcanoes, led caravans through the desert, and braved snowstorms on horseback
• Annie Smith Peck (1850-1935), a scholar who climbed the Matterhorn before setting her sights on even loftier peaks
• Journalist Nellie Bly (1864-1922), who inspired Jules Verne’s famous novel Around the World in 80 Days
• Alexandra David Néel (1868-1969), the first European woman to visit the city of Lhasa, in Tibet, which was forbidden to foreigners
• Osa Johnson (194-1953), a pioneer of documentary film who recorded her adventures in the South Pacific, Borneo, and Africa
• Lady Hay Drummond-Hay (1895-1946), who flew around the world in a Zeppelin
• Ann Bancroft (1955 – ), who reached the North and South Poles on foot
• Laura Dekker (1995 – ), who sailed around the world solo at the age of 16

About the authors:
Riccardo Francaviglia and Margherita Sgarlata, a husband-and-wife team, live in the province of Catania in Sicily, Italy. Riccardo writes and illustrates stories, and Margherita adds the color. They have written and illustrated more than 30 books, including children’s books and manuals, many of which have been published in Switzerland, Germany, England, Canada, Korea, and Portugal. Riccardo teaches illustration at the Academy of Fine Arts in Catania.