The Extraordinary Tale of Kate Marsden and my Journey Across Siberia in her Footsteps

This is a story that defies all reason: a Victorian spinster and nurse, so obsessed with the fate of leprosy-sufferers worldwide that she was prepared to journey, in winter, nearly ten thousand miles across pre-revolutionary Russia, to one of the most inhospitable areas on earth, first to find a legendary plant that might be a cure, and report on living conditions of sufferers in the remote Siberian forests. Sadly, her ambitious plans and fund-raising were thwarted by jealous detractors, who scandalised her worldwide. Jacki travelled across Siberia to see for herself the truth of her journey and found a remote village in the forest still celebrating her over a hundred years later. Throughout the book Jacki goes back in time to talk to her in a variety of relevant Victorian venues, in an attempt to unravel the truth.