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Six Months in the Sandwich Islands
by Isabella L. BirdThis classic of Hawaiian literature offers a charming glimpse at the splendid and fascinating world of pre-American Hawaii.Isabella Lucy Bird won fame in her own time as the most remarkable woman traveler of the nineteenth century, and Six Months in the Sandwich Isles, in which she describes her sojourn in Hawaii in 1873, is one of the gems of Pacific literature. It is safe to say that no other book about Hawaii surpasses it in fascination. Much of the charm of Isabella's writing is due to her use of personal letters for conveying her her experiences and her impressions. The thirty-one letters that compose the book were written to her beloved sister Henrietta, who dutifully stayed at home in Edinburgh to take care of the household while Isabella was away on her travels.The book is an authentic record of daily life in Hawaii in the late nineteenth century. It describes a life style during the brief reign of King Lunalilo, not too may years before the sad reign of Queen Liliuokalani ended her dethronement by revolution. Isabella Bird met royalty, missionaries, cowboys, and ordinary, everyday Hawaiians. It is fortunate that she left such a vivid narrative of her Hawaiian Interlude.
Unbeaten Tracks in Japan
by Isabella L. BirdThe daughter of a country parson, Isabella Bird was advised to travel for her health. Bird's compliance with her doctor's orders took her to the wildest regions of the American West, Malaysia, Kurdistan, Persia, the Moroccan desert, and China, among other places. One of nine popular accounts of her adventures around the world, Unbeaten Tracks in Japan traces the intrepid Victorian explorer's 1878 excursion into the back country of the Far East.Japan had just opened its doors to the West within the past decade, and Bird traversed regions unknown to many of the island nation's inhabitants. Traveling more than 1,400 miles by pack horse, rickshaw, and foot, she followed winding mountain trails and crossed countless rivers to meet villagers in their remote communities and peasant farmers in their fields. In poignant, vivid letters to her sister and friends, Bird describes the vicissitudes of her journey--the discomforts and difficulties as well as the pleasures and excitement of discovery. 40 of the author's own sketches and photographs illustrate her captivating stories.
My First Travels in North America
by Isabella L. Bird Clarence C. StrowbridgeA woman ahead of her time, Isabella Bird (1831-1904) ranks among the most adventurous travel writers of her era. In this captivating travelogue, she reports to her sister back home in England on a series of journeys through nineteenth-century Canada and the United States. Bird recounts with passion and sensitivity such sights as wigwams on Prince Edward Island and Quebec's romantic falls of Lorette, in addition to dark encounters with cholera, slavery, and harrowing storms at sea.Bird, whose youth was marred by illness, was advised by her physician to travel. With a budget of 100 pounds from her clergyman father, she ventured off to North America on the first of many journeys. Her later expeditions included forays to the Middle East and Asia, yielding books of discerning observations that have entertained and enlightened readers for over a century.
Unbeaten Tracks in Japan
by Isabella Lucy BirdIn 1878, a decade after Japan was launched into the world of modern nations by the Meiji restoration of 1868, Isabella Lucy Bird set off alone to explore the interior.Ninety years ago Japan was still a mysterious country to Westerners. <P><P>Miss Bird must have presented a fearsome sight to Japanese villagers when she came into view clad in American mountain dress and Wellington boots. However the country people liked her. She took off her boots before entering houses, she was of small stature, of quiet voice, and courteous! Many of the Japanese she met had never seen a European before. They were convinced all Westerners were uncouth barbarians.The Japan Isabella Bird describes is not the sentimental world of a Madame Butterfly, festooned with cherry blossoms. She describes real people in back country districts. Peasant life in Japan had never been easy but in early Meiji Japan, when the country was in a state of cultural shock following the opening of its doors to Western civilization, the drain of wealth from rural Japan to all-important Tokyo was particularly hard on the rural population. In this classic Japanese travelogue we see a side of Japan that is little known today.
The Yangtze Valley and Beyond: An Account of Journeys in China, Chiefly in the Province of Sze Chuan and Among the Man-Tze of the Somo Territory
by Isabella Lucy BirdIsabella Bird was one of the greatest travelers and travel writers of all time, and this is her last major book, a sympathetic look at inland China and beyond into Tibet at the end of the 19th century. In describing the journey, Isabella provides a rich mix of observations and describes two occasions when she is almost killed by anti-foreign mobs. It many ways, Isabella created the model for travel writing today, and this one of her greatest works.
And It Harm None (Circle of Three Book #13)
by Isobel Bird"And it harm none, do as you will," so says the ancient wiccan rede. Those who do not heed its words will learn the power of the Law of Three. Annie, Kate, and Cooper uncover what looks like a crime. When they look more closely, it is not. Knowing the Law of Three -- that harm comes back to haunt -- can they still help a friend in need without paying for it themselves?
Blue Moon (Circle of Three Book #7)
by Isobel BirdAncient moon, O ageless traveler, sailing on the sea of stars, as once more you come to fullness, turn your shining face to ours. The second full moon of the month--the blue moon--is a time when powers are heightened, with unpredictable results. When Annie attempts the channeling practice called aspecting, she changes into someone Cooper and Kate hardly recognize. Can their combined strength restore Annie's spirit?
The Challenge Box, (Circle of Three Book #14)
by Isobel BirdKate, Annie, and Cooper are poised at the brink of Wiccan initiation after a year of intense study. All three girls must choose a final challenge as a Wiccan initiate--will Kate's prove too difficult?
Circle of Three: Book 8 - The Five Paths
by Isobel BirdThe five-pointed star is the Wiccan symbol of the Spirit, and that's how Cooper wears it. Those not versed in the ways of the Craft find it unsettling...
Circle of Three #1: So Mote It Be
by Isobel BirdSpecial feature: This PerfectBound e-book contains Part One of an interview with author Isobel Bird. With this ribbon I do bindMy heart to yours and yours to mine.Love, I call you, come to me,As is my will, so mote it be. Kate cast the love spell with results unforeseen.She cannot stop it by herself, but the book of spells tells her of two strangers who can help her -- if only she can find them.
Circle of Three #3: Second Sight
by Isobel BirdShow me places cloaked in secrets,pierce the gloom of darkest night.Reveal that which has been hidden,Let Me see with second sight.Kate, Annie, and Cooper are Wiccans -- joined by magic bound to nature. Their dreams have turned to visions of a missing girl, calling to them for help....
Circle of Three #4: What the Cards Said
by Isobel BirdCards of fortune, tell your I story,Answer all I've come to ask let the draw set forth the course of what has been and yet may pass Annie's fascination with Tarot spirals beyond her control when her readings become reality. As if cursed, Annie faces friends Cooper and Kate with this newfound power-a power that threatens the very strength of their Wiccan bond.
Circle of Three #5: In the Dreaming
by Isobel BirdOn the eve of fair midsummer,Longest day and shortest night,Faerie magic, fill these woods,With joyous song and laughter bright.Midsummer's eve finds Kate, Annie, and Cooper celebrating the most joyous sabbat with nature -- and a few not unwelcome strangers. On a night when identities and emotions become tangled and confused under the strange solstice sky, one will be led astray.
Circle of Three #6: Ring of Light
by Isobel BirdHere within the healing circle,Bathe in the light and pain dispel,All that sickens, all that troubles,Wash away and be made well.Disillusioned, Cooper abandons the Wiccan circle and Kate and Annie are left without her. But when an illness threatens someone close to one of them, Cooper returns. Can the circle, once broken, ever be restored?
Circle of Three #6: Ring of Light
by Isobel BirdHere within the healing circle,Bathe in the light and pain dispel,All that sickens, all that troubles,Wash away and be made well.Disillusioned, Cooper abandons the Wiccan circle and Kate and Annie are left without her. But when an illness threatens someone close to one of them, Cooper returns. Can the circle, once broken, ever be restored?
Circle of Three #9: Through the Veil
by Isobel BirdAs the year comes to an ending, in the hour'tween old and new, part the veil and let pass the spirits who would travel through. As Annie, Kate, and Cooper prepare for Samhain, or Halloween, they are filled with anticipation. It is a time when the veil between the worlds is thin, and those who have passed into the spirit world may be more easily contacted. Those Annie holds dear dwell behind this veil already-will she find them on this eve of Wiccan celebration?
The Five Paths, (Circle of Three Book #8)
by Isobel BirdThe five-pointed star is the Wiccan symbol of the Spirit, and that's how Cooper wears it. Those not versed in the ways of the Craft find it unsettling, however. Will Cooper, Annie, and Kate be able to withstand the tide of controversy bearing down upon them?
The House of Winter, (Circle of Three Book #11)
by Isobel BirdWinter's cold and winter's darkness, wraps us in these frozen hours. as the ceaseless wheel turns we call the sun to warm us with its power. Cooper, Annie, and Kate celebrate the winter solstice in true Wiccan spirit. The threesome joins practitioners of the Craft in a remote, haunted house in the wintry mountains. An unexpected blizzard strikes, and the girls cannot resist the lure of the dark house's shrouded mystery.
In the Dreaming (Circle of Three Book #5)
by Isobel BirdOn the eve of fair midsummer, Longest day and shortest night, Faerie magic, fill these woods, With joyous song and laughter bright. Midsummer's eve finds Kate, Annie, and Cooper celebrating the most joyous sabbat with nature -- and a few not unwelcome strangers. On a night when identities and emotions become tangled and confused under the strange solstice sky, one will be led astray.
Initiation, (Circle of Three Book #15)
by Isobel BirdTonight you take the last step on Your journey of a year and a day. Welcome home, o new-made witch, And in our circle rest and stay. The joyful culmination of a year and a day's dedication -- Kate, Annie, and Cooper's Wiccan initiation -- brings celebration, an exhilarating ritual, and unexpected choices for the new witches.
Making the Saint, (Circle of Three Book #10)
by Isobel BirdA mysterious stranger shows Kate, Annie, and Cooper how to connect with the spirit world, but there are alarming effects, especially for Kate when she researches the religion of Santeria and a spirit named Oggun. When Kate's boyfriend and best friend become romantic, Kate uses her new Santerian powers to get even.
Merry Meet, (Circle of Three Book #2)
by Isobel BirdJoined together hand in hand our circle gathers round, to work our magic, weave the web, and dance on sacred ground. By the goddess we are called, witch to witch and friend to friend, to merry meet, and merry part, and merry meet again. A book of spells brought Kate, Cooper, and Annie together. The three are compelled to learn more, and the door is opened with the stirring ritual of the Vernal Equinox.
Ring of Light, (Circle of Three Book #6)
by Isobel BirdHere within the healing circle, Bathe in the light and pain dispel, All that sickens, all that troubles, Wash away and be made well. Disillusioned, Cooper abandons the Wiccan circle and Kate and Annie are left without her. But when an illness threatens someone close to one of them, Cooper returns. Can the circle, once broken, ever be restored?
Second Sight (Circle of Three Book #3)
by Isobel BirdShow me places cloaked in secrets, pierce the gloom of darkest night. Reveal that which has been hidden, Let Me see with second sight. Kate, Annie, and Cooper are Wiccans -- joined by magic bound to nature. Their dreams have turned to visions of a missing girl, calling to them for help....