First published 2013
Isabella, Lady Trent, begins her memoir with a warning. The study of dragons demands courage and risks life itself. Yet standing before these creatures brings unmatched joy that lingers forever. The world knows Isabella as the foremost dragon naturalist, the woman who pulled dragon research from shadowy superstition into scientific light. But she started as a bookish young woman whose love of natural history and dragons challenged her era's rigid social rules. Her memoir reveals how she gambled her reputation and safety to feed her scientific hunger. She pursued genuine love and fulfillment while society scorned her unusual interests. The story follows her dangerous journey to Vystrana's treacherous mountains, where she made her first world-changing discoveries. This personal account captures a pioneering woman who defied convention to reshape humanity's understanding of dragons.
Genres: historical-fiction, 20th-century, adventure, fantasy, 21st-century, 19th-century
Vibes: intimate, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: defying-convention, pioneering-woman
Setting: Vystrana
Period: 19th-century
334 pages · Hardcover · Tor Books