Excerpt from a longer article:

Timely Take-aways for Life-Long Learning: Birds and Birders

Several new and upcoming books explore the world of birds and birders. From naturalists and scientists to backyard birders, these books explore the wide range of ways people connect with birds.

...

Woman, Watching: Louise de Kiriline Lawrence and the Songbirds of Pimisi Bay
Merilyn Simonds, 2022, ECW Press, an imprint of Baker & Taylor Publisher Services
Themes: Biography, Naturalist, Birds

While living in an isolated cabin in Ontario, Canada, Louise de Kiriline Lawrence worked as a nurse then devoted her life to studying birds. The author connects the life story of this pioneer of ornithology with her own passion for songbirds.

Take-aways: Use Lawrence and Simonds as examples of how naturalists yesterday and today contribute to our understanding of birds through their observations and citizen science.

...

Whether helping educators keep up-to-date in their subject-areas, promoting student reading in the content-areas, or simply encouraging nonfiction leisure reading, teacher librarians need to be aware of the best new titles across the curriculum and how to activate life-long learning. - Annette Lamb

Is there anything better than a biography of a woman who lived her life to the fullest? At first I thought this was simply a profile of an influential birdwatcher. Louise de Kiriline Lawrence is described as Canada’s Rachel Carson and one of Canada’s most distinguished nature writers. Some of her meticulous bird records are still being cited even 50 years later. But halfway into the book, I realized this woman’s life was even bigger than her contributions to science.

I didn’t expect to be on the edge of my seat devouring her adventuresome life that had her growing up as Swedish royalty, escaping wartime Russia by horse drawn carriage during a blizzard and then raising world-famous quintuplets in rural Canada as a nurse. And yet, despite all this, memoirist Merilyn Simonds, suggests we remember Louise de Kiriline Lawrence “with spruce boughs shoved under her hat and a cushion pinned to the hem of her coat, a pump sprayer in one hand, pole mirrors in the other, pockets stuffed with notebooks, binoculars tugging at her neck.” And what better legacy is there than that?!

I received a digital advance reader copy of this book from NetGalley and ECW Press in exchange for an honest review.

I’d never heard of Louise de Kiriline Lawrence and I’m so glad that has now been rectified by this excellent biography. A remarkable woman who led a remarkable life. An amateur ornithologist who contributed an enormous amount to the study of birds in Canada, I hope this book will bring her to a wider audience. She might be better known in Canada, of course, and amongst birders, but she certainly deserves to be acclaimed as a self-trained woman of science. Born a Swedish aristocrat, she trained as a Red Cross nurse at the outbreak of WWI and went to Russia where she met and fell in love with a White Russian officer. When he didn’t return from imprisonment by the Bolsheviks she emigrated to Canada where she set up an outpost Red Cross hospital. When the Dionne quintuplets were born she became their lead nurse but wasn’t happy with the media circus that surrounded them. So she left and set up home in the Ontario wilderness where she spent the rest of her life watching birds, studying them, writing about them. This wonderful biography is comprehensive, meticulously researched and accessibly written. A fascinating read.

Woman, Watching - Louise de Kirilene Lawrence and the Songbirds of Pimisi Bay is a remarkable title, but I now understand that Mrs Lawrence was quite a remarkable woman. Biographies are so much more skillfully written when the author really knows their subject and Merilyn Simonds’ latest book is the story of her friend and neighbour who was also a world-renowned expert in Canadian Ornithology.

Louise de Kirilene Lawrence was born in 1894, into a family of high-ranking Swedish nobility. With a Princess as Godmother, Louise had the privileged upbringing of a debutant but she displayed a headstrong, practical nature. During WWI she trained as a nurse and looked after soldiers on the Eastern Front. After the disappearance of her Russian husband Gleb, she continued nursing in remote communities on the Volga Steppes, waiting for news that never came. Louise eventually crossed the Atlantic and joined The Canadian Red Cross Outpost Service, taking care of families during the Great Depression. Later, she gained fame and international recognition after officially nursing a set of famous quintuplets, The Dionne babies. This backstory skilfully establishes Louise’s character, her drive and pragmatism, and the author covers all of this quite admirably in the first four chapters of the book.

Simonds offers an absorbing narrative, following Louise’s path from Sweden to Russia and Canada, from debutant to nurse and finally… naturalist. To get away from the limelight, Louise settled on a remote piece of land near Pimisi Bay and built her ‘cabane’, ‘The Loghouse Nest’. This unspoilt haven spawned a lifelong habit of observing birds and meticulously logging their behaviour. The depiction of Louise’s life is not one of eccentric isolation, the cabin was always full of visiting writers, ornithologists and experts, trading stories and information. After World War II, when her second husband Len Lawrence returned from active duty, their life continued to revolve around nature, living on the same stretch of land for fifty years. Louise Lawrence’s methodical research has become one of the most revered sources in Canadian Ornithology.

This story has been pieced together after close examination of letters to friends, fellow birders and professors throughout the world. At the heart of the book, there is a profound appreciation of birds, following this novice as she reaches out for advice, corresponds with experts and finally becomes one herself. Simonds has woven in her own very interesting angle, meeting Louise as her neighbour, visiting her at the ‘Loghouse Nest’ and finally staying in the cabin to write this book during the Covid 19 lockdowns of 2020. This perspective makes the book both deeply personal and respectful, the academic side of Lawrence’s work is reverently outlined and acknowledged but the voice of Louise is clearly heard among the snippets, quotes and aphorisms. I’d thoroughly recommend this book to any fan of nature, birds or if you are in need of incredibly strong female role models. Simonds brought her to life like only a good friend could; Louise de Kirilene Lawrence who observed birds, nature and people and was indeed 'a woman, watching’.

Review by Emma Russell

Lovingly written biography. I had never heard of Louise de Kiriline Lawrence before I picked up this book, but she was a fascinating person. Born in Sweden, she spent time in Russia after WWII before emigrating to Canada and living in a small log cabin that for years was completely off grid. She started watching the birds around her home and was a close observer, keeping numerous detailed records and eventually writing several books and monographs.

The book is packed full of information on Canadian bird life and behaviour, which is a real treat, as are the accounts of Kiriline Lawrence's friends and other Canadian women birders. One of the nicest things about it is that the author personally knew Kiriline Lawrence and had a lot of respect and affection for her, which shines through and really brings the writing to life. She includes a few of her own birding experiences when relevant, and I really liked that.

I recommend this biography to bird lovers, whether you have heard of Kiriline Lawrence or not. It's a great read.

I'd like to thank the publishers, ECW Press, and Netgalley for kindly providing me with an advance release copy of this book, I really appreciate it.

Who loves ya, Birdie???? Louise Flach, did, that's who!!! Also known as Louise de Kiriline Lawrence, or as the captured wife of a patriotic Russian who fought against and was executed by the Red Army, or as a trained nurse who found her way in and traveling up the ranks in the Red Cross, or as the head nurse who provided 24-hours-a-day care for The Dionne Quintuplets, or ending up beloved as the Bird Lady of Pimisi Lake deep in the northern forests of Ontario, Canada.

Woman, Watching: Louise de Kiriline Lawrence and the Songbirds of Pimisi Bay was an engrossing read for me, wide-ranging for sure, covering soup-to-nuts, on Louise Flach's amazing life and experiences. I am not a birder, but many of my closest friends are, and so on the whim that this might be a good gift item, I began this read. In moments, I was lost to this earnest girl from Sweden who gave her heart to birds. From stop to stop we went until we landed in a log cabin deep in the Canadian Northeast woods with Louise and her very capable Len. The author, Merilyn Simonds, too, spoke directly to my heart. Her friendship with and the genuine respect for Louise, she pours out on these pages filling in background information to keep her readers on board with her narrative of this hard-working, relentlessly dedicated bird woman's life. It simply warmed my heart. Both women clearly love the songbirds of these forests, along with all the other feathered and furred creatures found there.

Not only that, surprise of surprises, she mentioned my favorite author as a young girl - also a Bird Woman - Gene Stratton-Porter. I was over the moon having that "easter egg" handed to me, and knowing there are others in the world who appreciated the nature-loving author who brought Girl of the Limberlost into my life through my own grandmother's copy. Meanwhile during the read of Woman, Watching, I found a number of Louise's books available online and snapped them up.

This read was a total surprise, a thrill and an inspiration to throw my window open as I write, to hear the songbirds in my own part of this vibrant world.

A Sincere Thank You to Merilyn Simonds, ECW Press and NetGalley for providing me an ARC to read and review. #WomanWatching #NetGalley

Woman, Watching is the life story of the incredible Louise de Kiriline Lawrence. Born in Sweden with a line to royalty, she leaves all that behind to have a life of adventure taking her on to revolutionary Russia then to Canada. Her story is an amazing one but the most incredible thing about Louise is her transition to bird watching when she settled on Pimisi Bay, Canada. A complete novice with no idea what the birds around her were, she grew to make huge contributions to the wealth of knowledge on specific species, their migration, breeding, habitat choices and much more. She invested untold hours in observation and was tenacious in her quest to know all there was to know and to write up her findings.

I loved this book and hated for it to end. Such a fascinating, determined woman. Louise was a powerhouse we should all know about. A revolutionary thinker, she used common sense and observation to learn all she could about the birds she loved so much. A pure joy for any lover of birds.

In keeping with women trying to find solace in nature, this is a book for you, disillusionment, misguided career path or just not know who you are - isolation in the woods may be an answer to discovery. Nature rejuvenates as this author points out and what an inspiration the book was to me. I loved this and compared it to Macdonald's H is for Hawk and Thoreau's The Maine Woods both inspirational and so helpful to your spirit. I would recommend anyone who loves nature and gets refilled by it to read this you won't be disappointed

I was interested in this title as I have read several of Rachel Carson's works, and have a fondness of my own for birding. I thoroughly enjoyed this biography of the life of Louise de Kiriline Lawrence and her extensive birding skills in the Pimisi Bay region of Canada. Definitely a strong personality and a woman far ahead of her time, she'd be just the kind of person I'd want to invite to a dinner party to hear the stories of her life.

Born into a wealthy Swedish family, who lost their family estate, Louise became a nurse and volunteered to work with the Red Cross in Russia during WWI. There, she met and fell in love with a Russian officer, who eventually was taken prisoner and executed. This story alone would have been enough to keep me turning pages, but not someone to sit and wait for life to come to her, Louise decided to move to Canada. She continued her nursing career in what we'd probably call "the frontier" in Canada, winding up being the nurse who took care of the Dionne quintuplets. (Also another story worth the price of admission.) After "retiring" from nursing, she wound up purchasing some land and dedicated herself to discovering all the details of this remote area, particularly interested in the life and migration habits of the songbirds who visited the woods around her home every spring.

Throughout her long life, she cultivated growing scientific habits, learning how to capture and band birds, how to observe them in their natural habitat, corresponded with experts and other amateur birding specialists around the globe, and wrote papers and articles describing the mating, nesting and feeding habits of many species. She was an amazing woman, definitely ground-breaking for her time, who had adventures worth telling.

Merilyn Simonds met Lawrence when she and her family moved near where Lawrence and her second husband had their remote house in the woods. It's obvious that she greatly admired her subject, and the story of Louise's life is exceptionally well researched. (As I was reading, I thought that Louise's adventurous life reminded me of the author, Karen Blixen, and her writings (i.e. Out of Africa), and it turns out they were cousins; definitely cut from the same cloth.) Louise's life was not an easy one. She often lived with very little income, in a house that had no amenities like running water or an indoor toilet, until well into the 20th century. She lived through amazing times of political turmoil, but she remained curious about the natural world around her. She was at the forefront of recognizing the harm pesticides were doing to the migratory birds, even before Rachel Carson sounded the warning call about DDT. Her attention to detail in her record-keeping and her insistence on doing things "in a proper scientific way" earned her a place in many male-dominanted organizations, where she was well-respected and appreciated.

A fascinating book about a woman I knew nothing about but whose story deserves to be told. Well-written, filled with exceptionally detailed research, I thoroughly enjoyed this one!

A fascinating portrait of a woman who lived an astounding life. The first third of Louise de Kiriline Lawrence's life saw her survive the Russian Revolution, life in post- Revolution Russia, the murder of her first husband, an amazing stretch with the Canadian Red Cross during WWI and in rural Canada, and as a nurse for the Dionne quintuplets. Whew. While these things could have easily filled more than one volume, that's not what Simonds highlights here in this meticulously researched book about her neighbor and friend. Lawrence built a small cabin in the woods of Pimisi Bay -her "loghouse nest"- and became, again all the odds, perhaps the most important ornithologist in Canada. Simonds, who is also a birder, uses Lawrence's journals, letters, writings, and her own experiences to bring both birds and Lawrence to life. I learned a great deal about both birds and bird watching (not that easy!) Not to be forgotten is her second husband Leonard. She lived, against the odds, to the age of 98. Simonds clearly admired her and valued their friendship- it shows in the writing. Thanks to netgalley for the ARC. Highly recommend.

I received an arc of this title from NetGalley for an honest review. Great read about my favorite hobby, but not something I think would check out at my library.

This was an utter delight, that is if you like nature books, biographies and musing about life.

Most nature biographies about naturalists tend to be about men. I know just writing this statement will bring people forth saying: what about this book, but truly look around and you will see that most naturalists we remember are men.

So to read a book about someone as interesting as Louise was just wonderful. Women do look at nature and observe and have always done so. It’s our shame we don’t remember them.

Thank you for NetGalley and the Publisher for providing n e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

This book was so much more than what I expected. As someone with a major in ecology and specialising in ornithology I was only expecting two things, birds, duh, and a glimpse into the life of an extraordinary female birder. I got both of those and much much more.

I never thought that the life I'll be introduced to was so adventurous. The life of Louise de Kiriline Lawrence was anything but dull, from a love story born of war and moving across the globe, she went through ups and downs before settling in and becoming the observer she's known for.

This book was a beautiful homage of an extraordinary life with a legacy us birders can still appreciate.

4/5 stars

I'm not sure any other book could tick off all my boxes: arctic landscapes, wartorn love, childhood in nature, forging your own path. I loved this bio of Louise de Kiriline. It did run a little long - and I was not as fascinated by her involvement (and the lengthy portion in the novel) with the quintuplets.

A lovingly-detailed portrait of a fascinating woman who deserves to be more widely recognised, Louise de Kiriline Lawrence, the Swedish Canadian amateur ornithologist whose studies and writing made a massive contribution to understanding the habits and behaviour of Canada’s wild birds. Louise was born into the Swedish gentry in the 1890s, her outdoorsy, conservationist father stirred her childhood interest in wildlife particularly birds. During WW1 she trained as a Red Cross nurse, later marrying a former member of the Russian Imperial Guard, following him when he joined the White Army to fight the Bolsheviks. She lived for many years in post-revolutionary Russia, eking out a living and waiting for her then-imprisoned husband to be released, he never returned. Louise then emigrated to Canada where she ran a local health clinic and assisted in the birth and early development of the infamous Dionne quintuplets. Louise fell for the charms of the Canadian wilderness and this was to become her home for almost all of her later years.

Louise built a cabin in Pimisi Bay, an isolated area of Northern Ontario where she developed a passionate interest in the local birds. It was there, during WW2, that that interest developed into a serious pursuit, and grew into a lifetime of sketching, writing, lecturing and serious study of the lifecycles of local birds. Simonds portrait of Louise’s highly accessible and admirably lucid, it’s also a marvellous account of the role and contribution of women to this slowly-evolving area of science. Simonds clearly shares Louise’s concerns for the preservation of wildlife and the significance of the natural world, and this makes her discussion of the birds that Louise documented come to life. Simonds drew on Louise’s letters, drawings, and published work for her biography, as well as conversations with Louise in the last years of her life, and it’s illustrated with photographs and examples of Louise’s illustrations and images of birds.

The blurb on the back cover pulls no punches. This book is a fascinating biography of a woman who begins her adult life by leaving behind Swedish aristocracy to marry a Russian soldier she nurses back to health in the first world war. I was hooked immediately. How does she get from wartime Europe to a cabin in the woods of Northern Ontario and become, as the back cover says, “a Canadian Rachel Carson”?

While the content is primarily about Louise’s life, in chronological order, there are some jumps that took a bit to understand. The author has a personal connection to Louise, and sometimes refers to her own life as it dovetails with Louise. Occasionally, the story backtracks in the timeline to follow a different tendril of Louise’s life, but there were usually years associated with those jumps, which made recalibrating where I was in Louise’s life easy.

In addition to Louise’s origin story, I was intrigued by her prominence in the birding world. She turned to birding later in life, during a time period when women were not often the center of attention. Despite the barriers I often perceive for women during that time, she was welcomed by the birders and quickly impressed them with her thorough observations. It is unbelievable to me how much she recorded, and for so many people.

This book engaged me enough to prompt me to laugh at the antics that come with trying to outsmart avians, and to cry when the tides seemed against Louise. This book also resonated with me because I feel like I can relate to Louise. She was an avid letter writer, and the author despairs over years of missing letters. I felt like I understood the mental state of Louise in those years. Louise wrote articles for a variety of periodicals, published both fiction and nonfiction, and faced rejection and letdowns, but it always seemed to work out in the end, which gives me hope for my own endeavors.

Near the end of the biography, the author recommends finding and reading Louise’s original works. Because this work is thick with Louise’s own quotes, and I enjoyed it so thoroughly, I will eagerly take her advice.

This biography of Louise de Kiriline Lawrence, a woman ornithologist, will be primarily of interest to bird lovers and readers interested in strong women in science. Very well written and deeply researched, it does in fact cover too much and in too much detail. A more focused book on either her work as a nurse or her life as an ornithologist and her chosen remote lifestyle in the Canadian woods would have been more readable. Lovely book cover! Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a digital advanced review copy.

Fascinating and very well-researched book about the life of Louise de Kiriline Lawrence, a woman ornithologist who first was a nurse in Canada for the Dionne quintuplets. She eventually ends up in a cabin deep in the woods of Canada, studying birds and their habits. The author’s adoration of this woman clearly comes through in the writing and story. However, there is so much information I felt overwhelmed, and did not finish. I think had this story been broken down into three books; her life in Sweden, life as a nurse, and life as an ornithologist in the Canadian woods, it would have been much more digestible. The writing is incredible, and everything was very clear and concise, down to the last detail. Those interested in ornithology, science, and strong, independent women will enjoy this important biography.
Thank you to Netgalley, Ms. Simone, and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

A very comprehensive look at an important early contributor of ornithological knowledge. The author sets out to tell the life story of a European women who eventual settles down to an off-grid cabin in the woods in Canada where she becomes an avid observer and recorder of bird behavior. The data collected by her continues to be important today.

Thank you, NetGalley, for letting me read this book.

Simonds gives us the life of Louise de Kiriline Lawrence - a woman who lived at least 3 lives, compared to most of us mere mortals.

Louise was born into an aristocratic Swedish family, and starts out life on a grand country estate, where her father instils into her a love of nature. She's related to Scandinavian royalty, she's a debutante, she's seriously well-bred, but when her father dies the family fortunes change.

Training as a nurse in response to the first World War, Louise ends up falling in love with a White Russian, and ends up trapped in the Soviet Union. This intense romance has shades of Dr Zhivago - it's a beautiful love story that ends tragically. Louse returns to Sweden penniless.

From there she emigrates to Canada, where she becomes a nurse in an isolated village. She ends up being the main carer for the Dionne quintuplets. Her calm, methodical, meticulous and upright character is really important in this phase of her life.

It's the final. longest phase that Simonds concentrates on, though. Louise ends up living in an isolated cabin in the Canadian forest where she trains herself as an observational ornithologist. We learn not only about Louise's journey from poetic observer to rigorous observational scientist, but also get a history of female ornithologists in Canada and North America, and insights into the life of certain birds.

For me, there was added interest and poignancy in hearing about Simond's birding experiences and her personal relationship with Louise. It was fascinating to hear about the role of women, too, and the role of amateurs in developing ornithology as a science. Louise herself was a gifted writer, and her voice is heard in this book. Simonds doesn't gloss over the hardships fo Louise's life - but her choice to live in such a remote setting is driven by her relationship with the natural world, and birds in particular.

This is well worth reading if you are interested in women in science, in birds, or just in one incredible life.