What do readers think of The Discovery of Jeanne Baret by Glynis Ridley? Write your own review.

I seldom read non-fiction, because I have the impression that it is tedious. When I started reading this book, I was sure my impression was correct. However, in later chapters, I became both fascinated and appalled by the account of the hardships Jeanne endured to be able to pursue her passion. Like other reviewers, I wish more material existed that would give more insight into Jeanne Baret. I would have liked to know more about how she felt about her experiences. She was such a brave and strong woman, and she deserves to be recognized.

I enjoyed this book very much for what it was--an academic historian's attempt to give readers insight into Eighteenth Century science. I do feel that since so little is known about Baret herself, the author might have taken more risks in making her come alive, even if the effort moved the book more into creative non-fiction. In any event, I found the tale exciting and inspiring.

It wouldn't be correct to call Glynis Ridley's account of the1766 French expedition of the ships Etoile and Boudeuse a biography of Jeanne Baret. I wanted to read this book because I am fascinated by the lives of unique and unknown historical figures. It isn't what I expected; in fact, it is less biographical in relation to Baret than her mentor, Philibert Commerson. This is not a fault of the author; there is very little known about Baret. It is, however, a well researched account of the voyage with extensive botanical records, descriptions of fauna and flora of the regions encountered during the voyage, geography of places such as the Magellan Strait, and a detailed history of Paris and other regions important to the characters involved in this story. This book will be of interest to history buffs and those interested in botany and geography. To call it a biography of Jeanne Baret, however, is a little misleading.

As many other reviewers have stated the story is fascinating, well researched, and contains little information on the real Jeanne Barret. However, I thoroughly enjoyed the book. I too wish there was more information to fill in the blanks of her life but with imagination you can see the courage, bravery, and skill of this fascinating woman. I do not read nonfiction often, but I would recommend this to all readers.

We are treated to the story of Jeanne Baret, a truly gifted herb woman, who assists a noted French botanist while gathering and naming plants during a round-the world trip during the mid 1700's. We are aware of the competition between nations and the deprivations suffered on the tiny ships that take these people on their voyage. I read the story eagerly and was saddened at the lack of knowledge of Jeanne's efforts. So much is supposed. My one complaint is some of the author's repetition. Other than that, I truly enjoyed reading about this remarkable woman.

This is a pretty good biography, and I learned many things by reading it. I never knew that the nursery rhyme "Peter Piper" was about a real person until I read this book. The author did some extensive research in writing this and it is filled with information about 18th Century France, and mainly the expedition led by Lewis de Bougainville. I recommend this story to history buffs, and anyone studying botany.

I have to admit when I first started this book it reminded me of reading a college thesis, but the more I read the more interesting it became. I really enjoyed reading all the background material on Paris and the trivia on tea as well as the fascinating study of herbal medicine. Would like to have known more about Baret but the author explained that there is not a lot of her to be found in the reports send back by the others on the expedition. She was, however, by all accounts a remarkable woman and deserved more than she received by her mentor and lover Commerson. This book will appeal to those interested in botany, expeditions and strong woman historical figures.

This was a well researched and well presented account of the events surrounding the controversial life of Jeanne Baret. It is unfortunate that there are few sources of information regarding her life, making this book more of an account of the life of her "mentor" Commerson and his exploits, with snippets of information relating to Baret making an appearance at intervals. The account read well though, the story of the circumnavigation and botanical exploits are very interesting, but left this reader hungry for more of Jeanne Baret. She must have been a remarkable woman.