One of the most celebrated and influential female travel writers of the Victorian era, Isabella Lucy Bird Bishop was also an explorer, missionary, journalist, and author. Although Bishop was well-educated, much of her life was marked by numerous health complications, which led her family to deem her an invalid. When doctors recommended a change of air, Bishop traveled to the United States for a year, where she composed daily journal entries and letters to her sister, Henrietta. These writings formed the basis of her first book, The Englishwoman in America (1856). It was this trip that ignited Bishop’s enthusiasm for travel writing and would prompt her to circle the globe three times during her life as she explored Korea, Japan, Canada, Hawaii, Tibet, Malaysia, and Colorado. Her work was both intimate and informative, combining personal insight and scientific knowledge of her destinations to provide the reader with an engaging, educational account of her travels. Among other themes, Bishop wrote to challenge Western stereotypes of Eastern cultures, to critique the treatment of women in lower classes, and to present a vision of places not yet understood by much of Western society. She died in 1904 at the age of 73 with her trunk packed, ready to embark on another journey.

伊莎貝拉‧璐西‧博兒，一八三一年出生，一位牧師的女兒。一八七二年她依照醫生叮囑，獨自赴澳洲旅行，期盼受困於背脊痛和神精衰弱的病體能有起色；沒想到，自此她卻展開了持續一輩子的冒險旅行生涯。

一八七三年秋天，這位四十二歲的英國女性從舊金山東岸搭火車出發，前往位於內華達山脈的加州特拉基；之後，她騎上一匹高大灰馬，穿著夏威夷騎裝，從加州旅行到科羅拉多州的洛磯山脈，並在美麗絕倫、與世隔絕的埃絲蒂斯公園度過一段難忘時日，最後更在氣候惡劣的嚴寒冬日，騎著精神抖擻的半馴化馬「鳥兒」，隻身探索這片「蠻荒西部」。在這段維時三個多月的旅行期間，她旅居農莊和採礦營，幫忙清潔、煮食，學會了駕駛馬車以及驅趕牛隻，並在亡命徒「山中的吉姆」的協助下，攀上標高四千四百八十公尺的長峰頂峰──這趟頗具挑戰性的旅程，幾乎耗盡博兒的全副精力。

當時她停留最久的科羅拉多，還是個不屬於美國合眾國的未開發地區，它的法律與鐵路都尚在整建中，居住於此的是生活簡陋、狂飲無度的拓荒者，他們剛由印第安人手中奪過這塊土地。伊莎貝拉的勇氣與毅力傳遍了當地屯墾區，以致當她詢問是否可以穿越積雪咫尺的小徑探訪綠湖時，驛站守衛回答：「如果是那個在山中旅行的英國女子，我們可以給她一匹馬，其他人不行。」

伊莎貝拉在這些寫給摯愛小妹涵蕊雅塔的信中，道出了她的一切遭遇。儘管這些書信寫於一百多年前，我們仍能分享伊莎貝拉眼中的洛磯山，那裡有未受人工雕琢或人為破壞的壯麗景色、豐富的野生動植物、破落山居、偏遠拓荒小鎮……。透過這些書信，我們的眼前浮現了她和響尾蛇、野狼、美洲獅、大灰熊面對面遭遇的情景，心中升起了她一覺醒來身上覆滿白雪的奇異感受，腦中也分享了她對採礦人和拓荒者快活性格的觀感。

「伊莎貝拉‧博兒是位完美的旅行者，還沒有人有過像博兒小姐那樣的歷險。」──《觀察家》(Spectator)雜誌

「一趟驚人的旅行，一本無可比擬的旅行書札。」

──德夫拉‧穆菲(Dervla Murphy)，《愛爾蘭時報》