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Women have a long history of keeping the lights burning, from tending ancient altar flames to manning modern day lighthouses. Yet most of their stories are little-known.
Guiding Lights is a collection of true stories spanning decades and continents, chronicling the lives of the extraordinary women who mind the worlds lighthouses.
From Hannah Sutton and her partner Grant, the two caretakers living alone on Tasmanias wild Maatsuyker Island, to Karen Zacharuk, the keeper in charge of Cape Beale, Vancouver Island, where bears, cougars and wolves roam, the lives of lighthouse women are not for the faint of heart. Paired with stunning photographs, discover the tales of:
- The dramatic torching of Puysegur Point, one of NZs most inhospitable lighthouses.
- Haunted lighthouses in across the US and their tragic tales.
- Lighthouse accidents and emergencies around the world.
- Two of the worlds most legendary lighthouse women, Ida Lewis (US) and Grace Darling (UK), who risked their lives to save others.
The book also explores our dual perception of lighthouses: are they comforting and romantic beacons symbolising hope and trust, or storm-lashed and forbidding towers with echoes of lonely, mad keepers? Whatever our perception, stories of womens courage and dedication in minding the lights – then and now – continue to capture our imagination and inspire.
List of contents
TABLE OF CONTENTSIntroduction -A world apart
- Watch-fire’s light - The origin and evolution of lighthouses
- Day and night - The role of a keeper
- Modest yet so brave - Grace Darling and Ida Lewis
- Keeping her lamp alight - The lives of female keepers
- Ceaseless vigil - The impact of isolation
- Whispers of the past - Ghosts, legends and mysteries
- Lonely outposts - Lighthouse women in the twentieth century
- The turning of the light - Today’s keepers and caretakers
Epilogue: To the lighthouse
Acknowledgements
Bibliography
Image credits
Endnotes
Appendix: The lighthouses of Guiding Lights
Index
About the author
Shona Riddell has a long-held fascination with lighthouses. A writer for 20+ years (including her subantarctic history book Trial of Strength with Exisle Publishing), Shona lives with her husband and two daughters in Wellington, New Zealand. She enjoys cold, windy weather and stories about remote locations.
Summary
Women have a long history of keeping the lights burning, yet their stories are little known. Guiding Lights includes stories from around the world, as we discover the heroism of female lighthouse keepers, how they came to be hired (especially in the 19th century), and the mysteries and legends that are inextricably part of lighthouse history.
