She was a legend, and now she is forgotten. Her name was Isabella Bird and she was one of the greatest equestrian travellers of all time.

Of moderate means, unhealthy, unwed, physically unimpressive, Isabella Bird chose to venture out into the world, a place which in the late nineteenth century was still full of dangers, discomforts, and unexplored countries.

“Unbeaten Tracks in Japan” is one of her five famous equestrian trips. She had ridden throughout the Hawaiian paradise, crossed the mighty Rocky Mountains on horseback, explored Tibet from the saddle and went on to canter across Morocco when she was in her seventies. But her 600 mile solo ride through Japan was a monumental mixture of mounted adventure and keen cultural observation.

Suffering from an unspecified illness, Isabella left her English home in 1878 journeying to Japan to “improve her health.” Her unorthodox cure consisted of buying a local horse and exploring the islands of the reclusive Japanese homeland. The Long Rider author carefully docu-mented various aspects of the fascinating culture she discovered, describing a host of subjects ranging from “Children’s Games” to “A Narrow Escape.”

"I lived among the Japanese, and saw their mode of living, in regions unaffected by European contact. As a lady travelling alone, and the first European lady who had been seen in several districts through which my route lay, my experiences differed more or less widely from those of preceding travellers," she wrote.

Though her quest for equestrian adventure was to turn her into a compulsive traveller, Isabella’s famous lone trek through the interior of Japan remains a classic and is presented now in its original two volume set, complete with delightful drawings.