The discovery of Jeanne Baret : a story of science, the high seas, and the first woman to circumnavigate the globe /Glynis Ridley.

"The year was 1765. King Louis XV had ordered the first French expedition around the world. appointing eminent botanist Philibert Commerson to seek out medicines, spices, and other resources that could give the French an edge in the ever-accelerating race for empire. Desperate not to be left behind, twenty-six-year-old Jeanne Baret - Commerson's peasant-born mistress, and a deeply knowledgeable plantswoman in her own right - disguised herself as a teenage boy and signed on as his assistant. As the ship stopped at strange new lands, the secret lvoers disembarked to collect and classify plants unknown to Western science, including the showy vine bougainvillea. But it wasn't long before the crew members on the cramped ship began to suspect her true identity. With this incredible true tale of intrigue on the high seas, Glynis Ridley offers a forgotten heroine the chance to bloom at long last."--Provided by the publisher.