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.