She Crossed Oceans Disguised as a Boy - an Editorial Review of "Sailing Against the Tide" by Cindy Burkart Maynard

Book Blurb:

She crossed oceans disguised as a boy.

History forgot her-but now her story demands to be told.

In 1766, Jeanne Baret, a brilliant herbalist from rural France, defied every expectation of her time. Disguised as a boy to escape the restrictions placed on women.

She joins a global expedition led by explorer Louis de Bougainville and her mentor, the botanist Philibert Commerson.

Aboard L'Étoile, Jeanne faces grueling sea voyages, the constant threat of discovery, and the burden of a secret that could cost her everything. But with every plant she gathers and every mile she sails, she proves that courage and intellect know no gender.

Based on the astonishing true story of the first woman to circumnavigate the globe, Jeanne Baret is a sweeping tale of resilience, adventure, and a woman who dared to chart her own course through history.

Book Buy Link: https://geni.us/qo6GX

Author Bio:

Cindy Maynard’s love of history, the natural world, and her insatiable curiosity come through loud and clear in her writing. Her characters come to life leading the reader to imagine what it was like to live in another time and place. Her most recent books, Esperanza’s Way, and Finding the Way, were inspired by her 500-mile trek across northern Spain along the Camino de Santiago. Cindy’s previous work, Soyala: Daughter of the Desert, won the Colorado Authors League award for Western literature, and WILLA Finalist Award, weaves a compelling, dramatic story based on the pre-history of the desert Southwest. Her debut novel, Anastasia's Book of Days, winner of the Marie M. Irvine award for Literary Excellence, is based on the purported diaries of the author's great-great grandmother.

Editorial Review:

It remains somewhat extraordinary that the life and the many remarkable achievements of the French woman Jeanne Baret [1740-1807] is not more widely known than in fact it is. Born an illiterate Burgundian peasant girl, it was from this unpromising start in life that this woman became one of the most indefatigable and adventurous  [if unremarked] of all voyagers, explorers, botanists and collectors in an age when competition was fierce and the stakes high. The writer, Cindy Burkhart Maynard, has at last taken this matter in hand, seeking to redress the balance and to tell the story of Jeanne Baret in her entrancing, entertaining and always exciting book ''Jeanne Baret. Sailing against the Tide.''

In point of fact, the writer, Cindy Burkhart Maynard, is admirably placed to take on the task of illuminating the life of this little known and largely unsung heroine. Two of her previously published and much praised works of fiction, 'Finding the Way' and 'Esperanza's Way' are accounts of two lowly women of humble birth who, against all odds, make their way to their ultimate goals through a whole series of difficult and demanding physical and spiritual journeys. On a more personal level, the writer herself made the arduous trek of over one hundred miles across the entire length of Hadrian's Wall, separating England from Scotland. She followed this with a taxing five hundred mile pilgrimage route across the Pyrenees to the Cathedral of Santiago Compostella - the famous 'Camino de Santiago'. Finally, and more recently, she completed the coastal route from Porto in Portugal to Santiago de Compostella; a distance of about two hundred miles. Clearly, the writer is more fitted and accustomed than most to speak with conviction and authority on the subject of difficult, long and trying journeys!

This, then, is the tale, the life story narrated in the first person, of a woman who, against all odds and disguised as a boy manservant, contrived to join an expedition of discovery and become the first recorded female to circumnavigate the globe. This was, to say the very least, unconventional. Philibert Commerson [1727-1773], the eminent botanist and naturalist and the man who probably shaped the fortunes of Jeanne Baret more than any other [and for whom Maynard displays an entirely justifiable disdain] wrote of a species of plant which he named after her.

''This plant is dedicated to the valiant young woman who, assuming the dress and the temperament of a man, had the drive and audacity to travel throughout the world inspired by some divinity, she frustrated the schemes of men and beasts, risking on many occasions both her life and honour.''

Under the circumstances and bearing in mind all of the vicissitudes that he subjected her to; the unsung, untiring and back breaking labour and for which he reaped all of the rewards, the loss of two children and all the other, many, hardships; this is a somewhat understated tribute. In 2010 the book ''The Discovery of Jeanne Baret'' by Glynis Ridley was published. It contains this very perceptive and illuminating remark concerning the relationship of Jeanne Baret and Philibert Commerson which illuminates this association brilliantly and cogently:

.....''They came together at the meeting point of two views of the natural world. A folkloristic, feminine view of the medicinal properties of plants and the emerging field of scientific, classification. Baret captured the attention of Commerson because she possessed the botanical knowledge that lay well beyond the competence of his university professors and  mentors. She was a home taught botanist schooled in the curative properties of plants. Baret was not Commerson's pupil. Instead, she was his teacher....''

Cindy Maynard's book makes this very point again and again; that of the dilettante and self obsessed and somewhat fussy symbol of the Enlightenment that is Philibert Commerson and the down to earth and humble young girl who lives far closer to nature, and understands it, far more than the trained intellectual could ever hope to. Here, for example, is an account of an early encounter:

I nodded. “Well then, let us begin,” a sly half-smile teased the corners of my mouth. “What do you see here?” I swept my arm across the lush panorama of meadows, fields, and woods. Philibert was nonplussed; he expected to receive information, not to be quizzed by a peasant woman.

He sighed and tried not to roll his eyes. “It is a hillside with open fields and an abundance of potentially useful native plants.”

“Yes, that’s correct as far as it goes. But look again,” I instructed. “To the left, over there, the hill drops off over an outcropping of rocks. At the bottom of the little cliff is a seep that creates a shallow marshy area. It supports an assortment of water-loving plants - water clover, flag irises and the like. And to the right, the grassy hillside ends at the margin of the woodland. The woodland belongs to the Seigneur, so we cannot forage there, but along the edge, where the meadow merges into the woodlot, there is a fascinating blending of two plant communities. I used to come here with my sister Marie and Juliette, my caretaker, when I was young. My favorite game was to commit to memory every plant that grew in each habitat, its uses, and the best season for harvesting it.”

In very short order and in his customary steam-rolling and self obsessive manner, and seemingly failing to take into account whatsoever the young girl's own sensibilities and feelings, the semi invalid Philibert Commerson rapidly assumes full control of Jeanne's life; aware as he is of the girl's extraordinary gifts and of her immense potential value to him. First she becomes his housekeeper and general dogsbody to his wife, who subsequently dies in childbirth. Jeanne then becomes responsible also for the care and maintenance of an increasingly demanding young child, all of which she submits to with a touching  naivety like the eponymous Candide in Voltaire's novel. Slowly, Jeanne is falling in love with this difficult and demanding botanist. She takes the conscious decision to entrust him with the most valuable thing in her life.

....''I dipped my hand into my pocket and took out my small black notebook. Row upon row of tiny script filled its pages. Philibert examined it closely, his expression changed from curiosity to wonderment as the import of what he was holding dawned upon him. The handwritten entries were the record of every plant I had collected, the sum of my exhaustive knowledge over my many years of exploring my surroundings. Each entry had the date each specimen was collected, its location, and medicinal use. It was as precious to me as a king's jewels......''

This is no small thing that the trusting young girl has entrusted to him, the product of a precious hard won literacy in her childhood and of subsequent hard hours of graft in open country exposed to the elements and painstaking observation. Commerson would have been absolutely correct in seeing the value of this battered little notebook to him and to his career!

''Philibert dragged his eyes away from the notebook, carefully placing it upon the table, and gathered me into his arms. ''You can't possibly know how much this means to me. You will be my treasured partner and lover to the end of my days.'' It was as close to a marriage proposal as he ever got, and I was satisfied with it.....''

Equally satisfied Commerson might well be and, in pursuit of his particular goals and objectives, all possible obstacles could, in his view, be swept away simply enough, and any of Jeanne's considerations simply did not enter into it. To his ever enterprising and optimistic soul no problem was ever insurmountable. All hindrances could, in his view, be overcome in his objective of establishing his name and fame in Paris, where he could mingle with the great and follow his great destiny. He would simply 'farm out' his inconvenient son and heir to his obliging brother in law for upkeep and all would be fine. The slight inconvenience of the fact that Jeanne is pregnant and expecting his child is annoying, but he has any easy answer for this too! Accordingly, the heavily pregnant Jeanne is whisked off to Paris, arriving in the year 1764. Commerson is, of course, blithely impervious to either her unhappiness or physical discomfort, enthusing instead about the splendours of the capital and the suite of rooms he had rented. Here, in time, Jeanne gives birth to a son and almost immediately Commerson persuades her to surrender her baby up to the Hospital for Foundlings. Increasingly, it is almost impossible for the reader to find any shred of liking for the man and, just four months later, Jeanne is devastated to learn that her child has died! ''What a shame,'' observes Commerson, ''such bad news for you.'' As Jeanne notes, ''I was twenty four years old but as naȋve as any lover learning that her paramour is not the peerless gentleman she thought he was. So, I tucked my pain in the furthest corner of my heart and moved on.

Unbeknownst to Jeanne, Commerson's name has been put forward [and accepted] as 'Chief Naturalist' for a proposed French expedition to circumnavigate the globe by a monarchy jealously aware of the massive advances in exploration and colonisation being made by Britain, Spain and the Netherlands and which is anxious to secure its own 'place in the sun'. Commerson, of course, is both excited and delighted by the prospect of new adventure, opportunity and exploration; at the prospect of at last making a name and reputation for himself. Jeanne, for her part, worries about all of their unfinished work together, for their work at collecting and cataloguing has been ceaseless. What will happen to her whilst he is away on a largely uncharted voyage from which he might never return? Airily, Commerson seeks to reassure her. He will, he says, think of something and for some way for them to stay together forever. Which is how Jeanne, disguised as a young boy, complicit in a harebrained scheme, comes to view the frigate ''L'Etoile' in the harbour at Rochefort on a bitterly cold February day in 1766, destined for a place she had never heard of in her life - Rio de Janeiro. And so the die is cast and Jeanne is irrevocably set on a course that will change her life and her destiny forever. She will come to far outshine her feckless and increasingly enfeebled lover in terms of personal achievement and discovery in what is to come. The rest of 'Jeanne Baret, Sailing against the Tide' narrates in raw detail that physical and emotional journey of exploration but, for the time being, Jeanne's own hopes and fears are more immediate and more practical:

''I must forget about Jeanne and become Jean. I hoped my costume - baggy pants held up with a wide waistband, a loose-fitting shirt, a bandana tied around my neck, topped by a knitted woolen cap - was ordinary enough among the deck hands to avoid unwanted attention. Abruptly, I became intensely aware of the bindings flattening my breasts. I'd better get used to it, I thought. I will need to bind my breasts every day until we complete the voyage and who knows how long that will be?  It was incomprehensible to me that our route would take us around the entire globe. That would have been an exciting prospect if only I could stop thinking about the many ways our plans could awry. But there was no backing out now.....'' 

By the time the good ship 'L'Etoile' finally drops anchor safely near Rio de Janeiro on April 18th 1767 after three months at sea, Jeanne has been through a number of important learning curves. Principally, she has learned that the man Philibert Commerson is not a man upon whom she might hope to rely upon. Jeanne's unexpected appearance has been explained to the commanding officer of 'L'Etoile', François de la Girandais, as a last minute replacement. It is at this point that Jeanne learns to her horror that she is required to share sleeping quarters with the rest of the crew. In recompense at her protestations, Commerson hands her a loaded pistol, which she is required to wield all night long to stave off the amorous attentions of the crew. Hauled before the Captain the following morning, Jeanne improvises a story, that she had been abducted by Turkish pirates and made a eunuch. The Captain agrees that henceforth she may share Commerson's cabin. ''The complications of passing as a boy were becoming clear.'' The crew's growing suspicions of both Commerson and 'Jean' are thus further inflamed, with the ship's surgeon, Francois Vives, only too happy to add further fuel to the flames.

Next, Jeanne is subjected to the indignities and the ordeal of all new sailors who 'cross the line', the point where the northern hemisphere is left and the southern hemisphere entered. Along with the other initiates, Jeanne, who cannot swim, is manhandled to the side and thrown overboard. When she returns to the cabin, soaked, scared half out of her wits and her clothing in shreds, Commerson, predictably enough, is inclined to make light of it. The two, as a consequence, do not speak to each other for weeks. The voyage is long and hard and Commerson's health, always precarious, deteriorates and Jeanne is obliged to tend to him. It further transpires that ''L'Etoile' is hopelessly under provisioned.  Before they meet with Captain Bouganville, the overall commander of the entire expedition, it is essential that they sail to Montevideo for essential re-provisioning!

''I hadn't studied geography, [Jeanne notes] but I had seen Philibert's globe, and I knew that Montevideo was in the tropics where food was plentiful, and the Straits of Magellan were at the bottom of the world in a land of ice and snow. How could we gather supplies at the bottom of the world? And after we passed through the straits, we would enter the Pacific Ocean, an almost endless expanse of water. The vast Pacific was littered with tiny, scattered islands and finding one of them with enough food to fill our hold would be like finding the proverbial needle in the haystack. I had no idea how long such a voyage would take, but there must be some plan to restock enough food to feed us for the duration. There had to be!

It would seem that the young and inexperienced girl Jeanne is far more aware of the serious complications of such a project than the senior and experienced men around her!

In the short time allotted at Montevideo, whilst Commerson continues to battle against ill health and suspected gangrene of the leg, Jeanne rejoices in the sensation of being on dry, firm land once more. Each day the pair set out to chart and explore this unknown land once more and to document all that they are able to see and find. The lion's share of all this work, the donkey work, falls upon the slender young shoulders of Jeanne. This is how increasingly it will be for her in this mismatched partnership for the remainder of their time together. On one occasion, viewing a new plant which seems vaguely familiar from her childhood and which she thinks may be useful for the treating of wounds, she takes a cutting back to the doubtless recumbent Commerson, who decides to name it 'Bougainvillea' in honour of the expedition commander. Everyone is delighted, save for Jeanne, who had actually made the discovery. Persistent rumours, meanwhile, partly fostered by the malicious Vives, about Jeanne's actual sexuality and the nature of her relationship with the expedition's botanist. The Captain is fully aware of this, but mindful also of Jeanne's unique contribution to the discoveries being made and that she is actually keeping Commerson alive. He decides to do nothing. They are summoned back to Rio de Janeiro and an unhappy meeting with Bougainville, the expedition commander and the Captain of 'L'Etoile' is severely reprimanded for his neglect.

They return to Montevideo where the ship's astronomer, Monsieur Veron, takes a kindly and paternal interest in 'Jean'. He has been stuck by the youth's aptitude and application. Thus is Jeanne awarded her first opportunity to survey the splendid constellations of the southern hemisphere through a telescope. As Jeanne notes; ''his respectful attentiveness comforted me like an oasis in an arid, hostile land. He was my respite from tedium and anxiety.'' She takes a vicarious pleasure in seeing his painstaking predictions and calculations of a solar eclipse accurately realised. The Straits of Magelllan in that largely uncharted age was clearly a daunting prospect. Disaster strikes when a sudden storm hits them in the midst of their preparations and the ships are badly damaged, Jeanne and Commerson make such expeditions as are possible whilst repairs are made and, in so doing, they discover the secret of cochineal, a vivid red dye which previously the Spanish had a monopoly of and which will help to transform the flagging fortunes of the French textile industry. Every day brings new discoveries.

Thus far, in truth and in all fairness, the reader has been given little real indication of Jeanne's own inner thoughts and feelings as she continues to chronicle her spectacular journey. It is perhaps best to be left to the reader's imagination. It has been a year since they left French waters and as the expedition sets off once more to brave the perils of the Straits of Magellan and beyond into the wide and largely uncharted Pacific Ocean. We can, however, well imagine from her experiences to date and the increasing inequality between her and the man Commerson. Having experienced the perils of the Straits and the equally threatening coastline of Patagonia, the young girl from the depths of the Burgundian countryside experiences for the first time such phenomena as the giant albatross, porpoises, penguins and a purely stunning view of mighty whales. They encounter the natives of the region, tall, muscular men all but naked despite the cold. They exchange gifts and Commerson and Jeanne are allowed ashore to continue their work. Jeanne is subject to the constant scrutiny of the crewmen wherever she goes and whatever she does. Commerson, again, makes light of her fears for her own safety.

''If I had any illusions about Philibert protecting me in any way, I was totally free of that notion. I knew he would not help me, would do nothing to stop the rumors, and would turn a blind eye to my concerns. My respect for my one-time lover, father of my abandoned child, totally evaporated like a shallow puddle under a blazing sun. We were still working partners, cabin-mates, colleagues and I was still his nurse. But our affection had died.''

All of Jeanne's previous love, affection and respect has gone, withered on the vine, to be replaced by a cold bitterness, rancour and resentment.

The expedition heads north west for the island of Tahiti. It is good to feel warm again after the icy wastes of the Antarctic. On the way, the encounter a multiplicity of small islands, many of them inhabited, but none large enough to provide a safe anchorage. At last, in early April, they arrive at their destination and are met by friendly people eager to barter fresh fruit and vegetables in return for highly coveted European trade goods. They also express a keen curiosity in Jeanne, for they have immediately seen through her disguise. Brought before Bougainville, the commander of the expedition, Jeanne is at last forced to reveal her true identity, perhaps she is relieved and Bougainville advises her to keep a low profile. For the crew, on the other hand, the island of Tahiti is a paradise after all their privations. The Tahitians are equally fascinated by the Europeans and one young man in particular, Ahutoru, is retained for future use as guide and interpreter. There is a serious attempt by the Tahitians of Jeanne. Regretfully leaving Tahiti the expedition next heads west in the direction of New Ireland, in search of new lands and colonies for the advancement of French policies. For a time, with the hold full of food, fresh fruit and vegetables and livestock, all is well. But this happy state of affairs is not set to last. Everywhere dangerous coral reefs and equally dangerous gatherings of large numbers of aggressively inclined natives prevent any safe landing. Provisions are again running low and so the expedition heads to New Guinea. A simple glance at the map provided serves to reveal the astounding journey made so far. Finally, they are able to find a safe anchorage in New Ireland. It is here that Jeanne is subjected to a violent sexual assault, partly goaded on by the villainous Vives and is rescued in the very nick of time by the timekeeper's assistant. It has truly been a narrow escape but, again, Commerson is capable of thinking only of himself!

''Do you realise,'' , he says in outraged fashion, ''how this will reflect on me? If the Captain believes I knew I brought a woman on board, my career will be in disgrace. Though you told me you charmed him I was innocent, and that you tricked me, I will still be blamed.''

''With every step, Jeanne notes, ''I detest him more.'' Scurvy has struck in this island Paradise, and dysentery is rife among the ill and diseased crewmen. Still, Commerson and Jeanne continue to labour, exploring and cataloguing. Jeanne seeks to lose herself in her work: ''I buried my trauma, resentments and sorrow and allowed my soul to heal.''

The expedition to the islands of the South Pacific has, in the final analysis, been a failure. Bougainville reluctantly decides to throw  himself upon the doubtful mercies of the Dutch of the East Indies, masters of this area, for  help and assistance; a sign of his desperation. Accordingly, they head towards Batavia and Cerem, but everywhere they are treated with suspicion and hostility. Finally, they make humiliating contact with the Dutch authorities, throwing themselves upon their mercy. They are now set on their homeward journey, heading towards Africa and the Cape of Good Hope. At last they enter into French controlled territory once more, the territory of the Ile de France. There Commerson is warmly welcomed by a colleague and friend, Monsieur Poivre, an affluent trader and merchant and himself a keen fellow botanist and proprietor of a vast botanical garden. It is at this point that Commerson is summarily dismissed from royal service. He is to remain in the Isle de France whilst the expedition returns to France. He is now utterly dependent upon the charity of the good Monsieur Poivre. Work continues and Jeanne is delighted to discover that Commerson has named a shrub after her -  ''Baretia Bonafidia'' - describing it thus: ''its external garb can be deceptive. It resists a simple description, and cannot be identified at a single glance, as it combines attributes not normally found together in one plant.''

Jeanne finds a plot of land for sale. The kindly Monsieur Poivre is only too happy to buy it for Jeanne as a reward for her services, endowing upon her for the first time in life the independence of a land owner in her own right. A final assignment - to the mysterious island of Madagascar. Commerson's always fragile health has, meanwhile, deteriorated yet further. He remains buoyant, however, at the prospect of a return to France and the publication of all the discoveries that he, and he alone, has discovered! Again, Jeanne forces down her resentment. They return from Madagascar to the dismal news that Monsieur Poivre has been recalled to France and that their services are no longer required. Bad times indeed! Commerson is now at his lowest ebb. He takes to his bed and, finally, dies. Jeanne is the only mourner at his graveside:

''For all our difficulties, all the vacillations in our relationship over the course of ten years, he was still the most important person in my life. He found me on a rural hillside, a lowly peasant herb woman, and educated me in the skills and methods of botany. He included me on an adventure I could never have imagined, a voyage of discovery that took me nearly around the world. He had been my pupil, my teacher, my lover, and father of my child, and in the end, my constant partner. In my way, I loved him despite his faults.''

Jeanne is truly alone, hundreds of miles from home, with a smallholding provided by Monsieur Poivre. Back in France the full provisions of the late Philibert Commerson await her. She is now thirty three  years of age. She scrapes by, working in a tavern. Here, in the year 1774, she makes the acquaintance of a military man, a former blacksmith from the Dordogne called Jean Dubernat. They are mutually attracted to each other and both desperate to return to France. They take ship and return. The extraordinary story of the equally extraordinary Jeanne Baret is all but completed. Jeanne successfully claims the Will, a residue of 445 livres. She and her blacksmith husband are not rich, but comfortable. Some considerable time later a royal messenger arrives in the village seeking out the woman Jeanne Baret. Through the intervention of Commander Bougainville, she has been awarded an annual royal pension for life of 200 livres annually for all of her hard work and service!

The author concludes her epic reconstruction of the stirring life and times of Jeanne Baret with this final observation:

''In light of her humble beginnings - born to illiterate and impoverished tenant farmers - Jeanne Baret's accomplishments are almost miraculous. In addition to her scientific contributions, her legacy lies in her strength, courage, ingenuity, and in breaking gender barriers. Though she never sought notoriety and received no recognition for her contributions during her lifetime, she helped destroy preconceived ideas of what women were capable of.''

This reviewer has nothing further to add beyond this pithy, shrewd, and precise summary of the life of Jean Baret. Cindy Burkhart Maynard has deftly and imaginatively summoned into being a neglected life.

Five stars from The Historical Fiction Company and the "Highly Recommended" award of excellence

Award:

---

To have your historical novel editorially reviewed and/or enter the HFC Book of the Year contest, please visit www.thehistoricalfictioncompany.com/book-awards/award-submission