VICTORIAN REBEL – MARIANNE NORTH remembers one of the most adventurous female explorers and botanists of all time in a story of obsession, tragedy and ultimately triumph in Victorian England.
At a time when women barely left their parlor rooms, Marianne North’s daring documentation of the world’s rarest plants propelled her to the top of a male-dominated world. Facing down Amazonian mudslides, starvation in Japan, and delirium in the Seychelles, North left an astounding legacy complete with new discoveries and records of now extinct species. VICTORIAN REBEL – MARIANNE NORTH, a one-hour special, tracks the footsteps of a feminist icon living at the height of the British Empire – reliving her jaw-dropping adventures and recognizing her unbelievable achievements in the face of adversity.
Actress and North-admirer Emilia Fox - best known for her roles on the BBC series Silent Witness and Merlin (NBC/Syfy) - takes us to the awe-inspiring locations of some of North’s greatest moments, and the film uses stunning drama reconstructions and North’s personal memoirs, letters and paintings to retell her amazing story – one of a Victorian rebel who rejected marriage and social convention to lead a pioneering life of conservation and exploration.