BISHOP

Isabella suffered from poor health throughout her life, particularly from back problems. She found that travel to distant parts alleviated her symptoms which is quite extraordinary considering the discomfort of nineteenth century travel, but may suggest that some of her ailments were psychological. By 1878 she had already visited America, Australia, New Zealand and the Sandwich Islands and then she spent seven months in Japan. Her book of this journey 'Unbeaten Tracks in Japan' was published in 1880 and was remarkable for her descriptions of the Ainu people of Hokkaido. She married Dr Bishop in 1881 after the death of her sister Henrietta Amelia but started travelling again in 1886 after his death. She studied medicine & went on to found hospitals in Kashmir, the Punjab and elsewhere in memory of her husband and her sister. In 1892 she was elected the first lady F.R.G.S.Isabella Bird was one of the most liberated and strong minded women of the mid nineteenth century and her books remain popular. She also published 'The Englishwoman in America', 1856, 'The Hawaiian Archipelago', 1875, 'A Lady's Life in the Rocky Mountains', 1879