Virtual Talk: “Olive the Lionheart” with Brad Ricca

In 1910, Olive MacLeod received word that her fiancé, the famous naturalist Boyd Alexander, was missing in Africa. So, she did what any Scottish aristocrat in the early twentieth century would do. She went to find him. Her search spanned nine months and 3,700 miles. Wearing uncommon bravery and ill-fitting boots, she traveled through jungles, swamps, cities, deserts and even a haunted forest. Africa was wild and daunting. She faced down a sandstorm, crossed Lake Chad in a canoe, and climbed the Hajer-el-Hamis peaks barefoot. She also discovered the Mao Kabi Falls, which were later renamed MacLeod Falls. The tension among German, French, and British colonial forces was palpable. Some of the natives were equally restless: cobras and crocodiles, and a murderous leopard cult.  On the lighter side, many villagers had never seen a white woman before and begged her to let down her ankle-length red hair.  This is not your typical adventure. Or your typical love story.  And Olive is certainly not your typical heroine. She broke rules, blazed trails and became a noted explorer, archaeologist and photographer in her own right…every step of the way.

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