The Runaway Duchess - Joanna Lowell

Esplicito

Join the Duchess and Lady on their latest read, The Runaway Duchess!

Ok so this takes place in the late 1800s - specifically 1883. This was the height of colonialism and a lot of that colonialism looked like - stealing things from other places. In this book, Neal was essentially a botanical adventurer.

Botanical expeditions during the 18th and 19th centuries were often state-sponsored endeavors aimed at cataloging and exploiting the flora of colonized territories. These collections were not merely scientific pursuits but were deeply intertwined with colonial objectives, including economic exploitation and the assertion of imperial dominance.

In the 1800s, the demand for exotic bird feathers in Europe spurred extensive hunting and trade, often involving Indigenous peoples and enslaved individuals as collectors. This trade  ...