Guiding Lights: The Extraordinary Lives of Lighthouse Women

by Riddell, Shona
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ISBN: 9781925820621
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Overview

Women have a long history of keeping the lights burning, from tending ancient altar flames or bonfires to modern-day lighthouse keeping. Yet most of their stories are little-known.

Guiding Lights includes stories from around the world, such as the dramatic torching of Puysegur Point, one of New Zealand's most inhospitable lighthouses; the two caretakers living alone on Tasmania's wild Maatsuyker Island; the female keeper in charge of Cape Beale on Canada's Vancouver Island (the station receives visits from bears, cougars and wolves); several 'haunted' lighthouses in various US states with tragic tales; the despotic keeper on Clipperton Island, a tiny atoll far off the coast of Mexico; lighthouse accidents and emergencies around the world; and two of the world's most legendary lighthouse women: Ida Lewis (US) and Grace Darling (UK), who risked their lives to save others.

The book also explores our dual perception of lighthouses: are they comforting and romantic beacons symbolising hope and trust, or storm-lashed and forbidding towers with echoes of lonely, mad keepers? Whatever our perception, stories of women's courage and dedication in minding the lights -- then and now -- continue to capture the public's imagination and inspire us.
  • Format: Hardcover
  • Author: Riddell, Shona
  • ISBN: 9781925820621
  • Condition: Used
  • Dimensions: 9.10 x 1.10
  • Number Of Pages: 256
  • Publication Year: 2020
Language: English

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