Lucy Audubon

<p>"Lucy was in DeLatte's words 'extraordinarily independent'. She was no feminist.... Yet Lucy Bakewell Audubon had one advantage over many other women of her time: she knew precisely what she wanted. As often happens to good biographers DeLatte herself seems to take on some of her subject's characteristics as her biography progresses. Modestly but firmly she turns her book into a plea for Lucy Audubon an entirely unapologetic one though." -- Christopher Irmscher from his Foreword</p><p>Wife of the great naturalist John James Audubon Lucy Bakewell Audubon (1788--1874) was a powerful and extraordinary woman who coped resourcefully with the demands of a difficult situation and worked tirelessly to aid her husband in his landmark work. In Lucy Audubon: A Biography Carolyn E. DeLatte focuses on the early life of Lucy Audubon: her birth in England and youth in eastern Pennsylvania her courtship and marriage to the eccentric young Audubon their wanderings along the western fringe of the country the birth of their children and the preparation and publication of The Birds of America. Throughout DeLatte emphasizes Lucy Audubon's own experiences concerns and point of view. She tells of Lucy's often stormy relationship with her brilliant but unreliable husband her place at the head of their small family and her crucial role in the creation and publication of her husband's magnum opus. Intelligent adaptable and strong-willed Lucy was DeLatte shows the partner Audubon needed for his life and for his work. As noted Audubon expert Christoph Irmscher says in his foreword "When [DeLatte] slips into her character's skin she does so unobtrusively and to great effect -- thus we are right there with Lucy."</p>