The year was 1765. Eminent botanist Philibert Commerson had just been appointed to a grand new expedition: the first French circumnavigation of the world. As the ships’ official naturalist, Commerson would seek out resources—medicines, spices, timber, food—that could give the French an edge in the ever-accelerating race for empire.
Jeanne Baret, Commerson’s young mistress and collaborator, was desperate not to be left behind. She disguised herself as a teenage boy and signed on as his assistant. The journey made the twenty-six-year-old, known to her shipmates as “Jean” rather than “Jeanne,” the first woman to ever sail around the globe.
Baret left no account of her adventure, and Commerson kept a diary only fitfully. Seven other journals from the voyage survive, but the four that mention Baret are sketchy and contradictory. Confronted with this dearth of sources, Ms. Ridley chose a provocative, speculative course.
By Glynis Ridley
