Based on archives, this is a joint biography of Isabel and Richard Burton. It seeks to set Isabel in her proper place as Burton's equal in daring and endurance, a fascinating figure in her own right.

Their marriage was both improbable and inevitable. Isabel Arundell was a schoolgirl, the scion of England's most distinguished Catholic family. When she first saw him whilst walking at a seaside resort, Richard Burton had already made his mark as a linguist, scholar, soldier and explorer, at once a symbol of Victorian England's vision of empire and an avowed rebel against its mores. After being married, the Burtons travelled and experienced the world, from diplomatic postings in Brazil and Africa to hair-raising adventures in the Syrian desert. Based on archives, this is a joint biography of Isabel and Richard. It seeks to set Isabel in her proper place as Burton's equal in daring and endurance, a fascinating figure in her own right.