On Sledge and Horseback to Outcast Siberian Lepers

A highly committed nurse, Kate Marsden (1859–1931) published this account of her journey to Siberia in 1893. She describes her adventures on the dangerous journey to this remote area, and her experiences in the leper colonies there, for which she worked and raised funds in Russia and Britain.

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Kate Marsden (1859–1931), the youngest of eight children from a poor family, was a highly committed nurse. She cared for soldiers in the Russo-Turkish War in 1877–8, and undertook missionary travels to various countries, but she was especially concerned about the plight of those suffering from leprosy. This volume, published in 1893, describes her remarkable journey to Siberian leper colonies. At first she travelled by sledge with a friend, but continued alone on horseback, facing appalling weather conditions with her customary courage. Her commitment to leprosy sufferers led her to found the St Francis Leprosy Guild in London in 1895, and she organised a leprosy hospital in the remote Siberian town of Vilyusk in 1897. She was made a Member of the Russian Imperial Red Cross Society, and she was also one of the first women to be appointed a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society.