The Quirky Bookworm

While searching for non-fiction on Kindle, I found The Lady and the Mountain Man by Chris Enss that’s a beautiful historical work based on the Victorian explorer from England, Isabella Bird. Enss writes of Bird’s experience in Estes Park, including her friendship with guide Jim Nugent, otherwise known as “Rocky Mountain Jim.”

Isabella Bird’s Travels and Marriage

“Life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all.” – Isabella Bird

Bird was born in 1831 to Reverend Edward Bird and his wife, Sunday School teacher Dora Lawson, in Yorkshire, England. She began her world travels at the age of 23 due to doctor recommendations based on her medical diagnoses. The fresh air of the mountains assisted with relief from her spinal condition and neuralgia. She had a natural love of horses and was an expert equestrian (Enss, The Lady and the Mountain Man). Her travels were funded by books that she authored about her experiences visiting different parts of the world. Letters written to her younger sister, Henrietta, have been archived at the National Library of Scotland that give archivists and historians an idea of her health, relationships and travels during her life. She refused to allow her diagnoses limit her and remained strong in her Christian faith.

Bird was pursued by the family friend, Dr. John Bishop, and accepted his proposal at the age of 49. He was completely captivated by her and upon his passing five years later, Bird established John Bishop Memorial Hospital, located in India, with funds that he allotted for that purpose. She continued her travels to China, Tibet, Korea, Malaysia, Japan, Turkey and Persia after his passing. She built 5 hospitals and an orphan asylum in the Far East (Enss, The Lady and the Mountain Man). Bird completed 50 years of travels by the time of her death in 1904.

Honorary Recognitions

• Royal Order of Kapiolani by King Kalakaua of Hawaii (1891)
• First female to be awarded Honorary Fellowship of the Royal Scottish Geographical Society (1890)
• First female allowed to join the Royal Geographical Society (1892)
• Royal Photographic Society (1897)
• Colorado Women’s Hall of Fame (1985)
  

Online Articles

Celebrating Isabella Bird After Her Long Peaks Summit-An Interview with Paula Williams by Claire Molle https://www.visitestespark.com/blog/post/celebrating-isabella-bird-150-years-after-her-longs-peak-summit/
Following British Explorer Isabella Bird’s Footsteps Through the Rockies, 150 Years Later by Laura Kiniry https://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/following-british-explorer-isabella-birds-footsteps-through-the-rockies-150-years-later-180982892/
Isabella Bird, Digital Archive (National Library of Scotland) https://www.nls.uk/collections/john-murray/authors/isabella-bird/
Discovering the Uknown Japan with Isabella Bird https://www.japan.go.jp/kizuna/2021/12/discovering_japan_with_isabella_bird.html
Colorado Women’s Hall of Fame: Isabella Bird-provides a list of works that Isabella Bird authored and books that mention her life.
https://www.cogreatwomen.org/project/isabella-bird/
A Mountain West Legend, The Story of Isabella Bird and Mountain Man Jim, is 150 years Old by Renee Jean https://cowboystatedaily.com/2023/05/06/a-mountain-west-legend-the-story-of-isabella-bird-and-mountain-man-jim-is-150-years-old/

Book Review: The Lady and the Mountain Man by Chris Enss

Title: The Lady and The Mountain Man
Author: Chris Enss
Publisher: TwoDot
Publication Date: August 2021
Page Length: 214
The Lady and the Mountain Man gives a defining portrait of Isabella Bird’s travels in Colorado, includes pictures and sketches, and provides details of her unlikely friendship with local guide, trapper and poet, Jim Nugent. Bird’s personality was one of boldness and determination and she was looking for the same in a lifelong partner. Nugent was a desperado, a man with a lawless past, yet to Bird he was also a handsome gentleman, with a cultured voice and respectable manner. He told Bird his entire life story of how he came to be a known outlaw of the West. Bird wrote to Henrietta soon after that “he is a man any woman might love, but no sane woman would marry.” The two bonded and formed a deep friendship during their climb of Long’s Peak.

I really enjoyed Enss’s imagery that she creates with words and through her writing the reader is able to tell that she really enjoys her craft. The book was honestly a delightful and engaging read. I recommend The Lady and the Mountain Man for readers interested in the American West, Colorado history, and/or world explorers.

About the Author

Chris Enss is an award-winning author and screenwriter. The Lady and the Mountain Man is a 2022 Will Rogers Medallion Gold Award Winner for Western Biographies and Memoirs. Visit the author’s website at https://chrisenss.com/author/.