Ida Laura Pfeiffer

Ida Laura Pfeiffer (October 14, 1797 in Vienna - October 27, 1858 Vienna), was an Austrian traveller and travel book author. She was one of the first female explorers, whose popular books were translated into seven languages. She was a member of geographical societies of both Berlin and Paris, but not of Royal Geographical Society in London due to her sex.

Early life

Travels

After her sons had homes of their own, Ida Pfeiffer was finally able to fulfil her childhood dream of travelling to foreign places. She later wrote in "Visit to Iceland":

When I was but a little child, I had already a strong desire to see the world. Whenever I met a travelling-carriage, I would stopinvoluntarily, and gaze after it until it had disappeared; I used even to envy the postilion, for I thought he also must haveaccomplished the whole long journey.

In 1842 she travelled along the Danube river to the Black Sea and Istanbul. From there she continued to Palestine and Egypt before returning home via Italy. She published an account of her journey in "Reise einer Wienerin in das Heilige Land" (Vienna, 1843); money earned from this publication allowed her to pursue more extended explorations in the future. In 1845 she set out to Scandinavia and Iceland, describing her tour in two volumes, "Reise nach dein skandinavischen Norden und der Insel Island" (Pest, 1846).

First trip round the world

In 1846 she started on a journey round the world, visiting Brazil, Chile and other countries of South America, Tahiti, China, India, Persia, Asia Minor and Greece, and reaching home in 1848. The results were published in "Eine Frau fährt um die Welt" (Vienna, 1850).

Second trip round the world

In 1851 she went to England and thence to South Africa, intending to penetrate into the interior; this proved impracticable, but she proceeded to the Malay archipelago, spending eighteen months in the Sunda Islands and the Malukus. After a visit to Australia, Madame Pfeiffer proceeded to California, Oregon, Peru, Ecuador, New Granada, and north again to the Great Lakes, reaching home in 1854. Her narrative, "Meine zweite Weltreise", was published at Vienna in 1856.

Madagascar adventure

In May 1857 she set out to explore Madagascar, where at first she was cordially received by the queen Ranavalona I. However, she unwittingly allowed herself to be involved in a plot to overthrow the government together with a few other Europeans (e.g Jean Laborde) and the crown prince Rakoto (the future king Radama II). After the queen learned about the coup attempt, the Europeans were saved from execution by the intervention of the crown prince, whose involvement in the plot was not known by the queen. Instead, Ida Pfeiffer and other Europeans were expelled from the country in July 1857. Suffering from disease she contracted in Madagascar, she never fully recovered and died 1858 in Vienna probably due to cancer, or malaria. The "Reise nach Madagascar" was issued in 1861 (Vienna), with a biography by her son.

References

External links

*gutenberg author|id=Ida_Pfeiffer|name=Ida Pfeiffer
* [http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/18037 The Story of Ida Pfeiffer, and Her Travels in Many Lands] , an 1879 biography.