Describes the epic odyssey of Isabela Godin des Odonais, an eighteenth-century aristocrat, who braved the perils of the Amazon to undertake a three-thousand-mile journey marked by hardship, starvation, danger, and death.

Includes index.

Maps -- A story's origins -- The French measurers 1735-43 -- Iberians among the Amazons 1542, 1560-1, 1637-9 -- A feast of science 1743-4 -- The constant husband 1749-65 -- A Galiot for a lady 1765-6 -- Joachim's journey 1766-9 -- Doña Isabela embarks 1769 -- Disaster 1769 -- The sole survivor 1769-70 -- Stranger than fiction 1770 -- A joyful reunion 1770-3 -- The chain-bearer comes home 1773-92 -- A personal epilogue.