For those who imagine that the Victorian era was one in which womenfolk were irrevocably shackled to home, kitchen and embroidery hoop, a look at these articles may change that view. This was a period of exploration and what we might refer to today as "adventure travel" - i.e., travel to regions that offered no western-style amenities and that might even be actively hostile toward western tourists. (Note the comment below that Lady Blunt and her husband dared to travel amongst the Bedouins "without disguise"!) But adventure travel was by no means an exclusively male game. This was a period that saw a host of intrepid female travelers who ventured in territories every bit as difficult and hostile as those explored by men (with the exception of the poles!).

Baker, Lady Florence

Famous Lady Travelers: The Adventures of Lady Baker, by Edward Whymper (Girl's Own Paper, 1885)

Her "journey through the Soudan to the Equator is one of the most extraordinary ever performed by a lady."

Bird, Isabella

The Travels of Miss Bird, by Edward Whymper (Girl's Own Paper, 1886)

"Miss Bird commenced her travels at the age of 21 by going with some relations to Prince Edward Island, and shortly afterwards went by herself to Canada and the United States. She published an account of this journey, under the title of 'The Englishwoman in America.'"

Blunt, Lady Anne

Famous Lady Travelers: The Great Arabian Traveler - Lady Anne Blunt, by Edward Whymper (Girl's Own Paper, 1885)

"Lady Blunt and her husband went boldly [amongst the Bedouins] without disguise, and were everywhere known as foreigners."

Burnaby, Mrs. F.

Two Lady Alpine Climbers - Mrs. Burnaby, Miss Walker, by Edward Whymper (Girl's Own Paper, 1886)

D'istria, Dora

Dora D'Istria (Scribners, 1879A)

Helen Ghika, the Wallachian Princess Massalsky. "As an authoress, philanthropist, traveler, artist, and one of the strongest advocates of freedom and liberty for the oppressed of both sexes, and of her suffering sisters especially, she is an honor to the time and to womanhood."

Edwards, Amelia

Drawings by Amelia Edwards (Girl's Own Paper, 1893)

A collection of sketches by Amelia Edwards, writer and Egyptologist (and one of the inspirations for Elizabeth Peters' "Amelia Peabody").

A Few Personal Notes of Amelia Blandford Edwards, by Esther Du Bois (Girl's Own Paper, 1898)

Godin, Madame

The Adventures of Madame Godin, by Edward Whymper (Girl's Own Paper, 1885)

A woman who traveled the Amazon.

Gordon-Cumming, Miss Constance F.

Famous Lady Travelers: Miss Constance F. Gordon-Cumming, by Edward Whymper (Girl's Own Paper, 1885)

"She has traveled more or less over half the world."

Marsden, Kate

Kate Marsden, and Her Mission to Russia and Siberia, by Emma Brewer (Girl's Own Paper, 1891)

Writer, explorer, and nurse. "This wonderful and dangerous mission... is to travel through Russia up to the remote parts of Siberia to see for herself the condition of the lepers...and to find some means of alleviating their misery and improving their physical condition..."

Pfeiffer, Ida

A World-Wide Traveler: Ida Pfeiffer, by Edward Whymper (Girl's Own Paper, 1886)

"On May 1st, 1846, Madame Pfeiffer left Vienna on the first of her voyages round the world, embarking at Hamburg for Rio at the end of the following month."

Ida Pfeffer, by Alice King (Argosy, 1893)

Viennese traveler Ida Pfeiffer visited nearly country in the world, including Iceland.

Savory, Isabel

A Lady's Adventures in Unknown India, by Isabel Savory (Lady's Realm, 1901)

This series goes on to cover Savory's adventures in the Himalayas.

Stanhope, Lady Hester

Lady Hester Stanhope - A Gallery of Eccentric Women, by Nanette Mason (Girl's Own Paper, 1888)

Apparently a very talkative lady who took up residence in Syria.

Walker, Lucy

Two Lady Alpine Climbers - Mrs. Burnaby, Miss Walker, by Edward Whymper (Girl's Own Paper, 1886)

An Englishwoman Among the Himalayas (Harper's Monthly, 1876B)

A travel account charmingly illustrated by the anonymous author. (Some online sources list the author of this piece as "Alfred Guernsey," but Guernsey was the editor of Harper's Monthly, and not the author of the article itself.)

• See also Adventurers & Explorers