Alexandra David-Néel: Her Mystical Adventures in Tibet and Beyond
In 1924, at age 56, a genteel Frenchwoman disguised as a peasant hiked through the Himalayas to become the first Western woman into Tibet’s forbidden city, Lhasa.
People Who Bloomed in Their Fifties
Maria Sibylla Merian: Her Daring Midlife Expedition Changed How We View the Insect World
Maria Sibylla Merian, age 52, voyaged to Suriname when women were still burnt as witches. Her incredible paintings of insect metamorphosis grace these web pages.
Wallace Stevens: The Lawyer Who Won the Pulitzer for Poetry at Age 75
At age 75, Wallace Stevens won the Pulitzer for poetry while serving as vice president of Hartford Insurance. How did he reconcile this double life?
Lilian Jackson Braun: A Late-Blooming Author and Her Fabulous Feline Detective
Lilian Jackson Braun published her first “A Cat Who…” mystery at 53. Publishers rejected her fourth installment because it lacked sex and violence. But she prevailed!
Frances Glessner Lee: How One Late Bloomer’s Deathly Dollhouses Influenced CSI
A grandma born in the Victorian era practically invented forensics in her 50s. Frances Glessner Lee’s peculiar tool—miniature murders staged in dollhouses.
Saloma Furlong: Her Courageous Path to a University Degree at Age 50
Saloma Furlong’s parents wouldn’t let her attend high school and no one prosecuted them. How is that possible in a country with compulsory education laws?