The Adventurous Life of Amelia B. Edwards

In Victorian England, Amelia B. Edwards was an iconic cultural figure, admired by Trollope and Browning for her best-selling fiction and by the wider public for her witty, thought-provoking travel writing. In later life, she became a celebrated historian, bringing fresh understanding of the world of Ancient Egypt to a fascinated public and founding the Egyptian Exploration Fund (Society).

The Adventurous Life of Amelia B. Edwards by Margaret C. Jones is a new biography that uses previously overlooked sources to tell the story of her fascinating and unconventional life—her travels, travails, and feminist activism—as well as touching on her occasionally problematic views on race.

In appreciation of a figure ahead of her time, it examines her involvement in suffrage and animal rights societies and reveals new insights into Edwards’ loving same-sex relationships with Ellen Rice Byrne and Lucy Renshaw. In doing so, it reveals a versatile, creative, witty, independent woman, and a true pioneer of her time.