0:00:03 > 0:00:07This place has some of the richest diversity of wildlife.
0:00:08 > 0:00:11There are all manner of monkeys and lizards and snakes.
0:00:13 > 0:00:17But if you'd come here, say, 150 years ago,
0:00:17 > 0:00:22when this was still one of the most remote places on Earth...
0:00:22 > 0:00:25there's just a possibility that you might have followed
0:00:25 > 0:00:27one of the winding forest paths...
0:00:30 > 0:00:32..and happened suddenly upon...
0:00:36 > 0:00:41..a middle-aged Englishwoman, standing, painting furiously.
0:00:43 > 0:00:46The woman's name is Marianne North,
0:00:46 > 0:00:49a Victorian rebel in petticoats.
0:00:49 > 0:00:53She hunted the world to paint undiscovered plants,
0:00:53 > 0:00:56armed with nothing more than a brush and an iron will.
0:00:56 > 0:00:58Here I go, Miss North!
0:00:58 > 0:01:01I'm actress Emilia Fox and I've come to Borneo,
0:01:01 > 0:01:05following in the footsteps of this intrepid explorer,
0:01:05 > 0:01:08whose maverick nature has always inspired me.
0:01:08 > 0:01:11Marianne North stepped into the realm of the man.
0:01:11 > 0:01:14She broke all manner of rules,
0:01:14 > 0:01:17travelling the globe alone for 15 years...
0:01:17 > 0:01:20Everywhere she went, she drew.
0:01:20 > 0:01:22..creating over 1,000 paintings.
0:01:22 > 0:01:26There is a vibrancy and a sense of feeling and emotion.
0:01:26 > 0:01:28It makes me want to cry!
0:01:29 > 0:01:32This is the story of a fearless pioneer...
0:01:32 > 0:01:34She was consumed by this passion...
0:01:34 > 0:01:36- Yes.- ..to paint plants.
0:01:36 > 0:01:41..whose vision impressed the most revolutionary scientist of all time.
0:01:41 > 0:01:43Darwin had great respect for her.
0:01:43 > 0:01:45She did bring to life his theory.
0:01:45 > 0:01:47Incredible.
0:01:47 > 0:01:51To run away into the wild with plants,
0:01:51 > 0:01:54that makes Marianne North an extraordinary painter.
0:02:06 > 0:02:09You wouldn't believe that I'm in one of the most
0:02:09 > 0:02:12densely populated cities in the world.
0:02:12 > 0:02:16But this is a 300-acre oasis of calm in south-west London.
0:02:17 > 0:02:18This is Kew Gardens.
0:02:23 > 0:02:27For over 250 years, these magnificent gardens
0:02:27 > 0:02:30have led the world in botanical research.
0:02:31 > 0:02:33Under Queen Victoria,
0:02:33 > 0:02:36it became the scientific powerhouse of the British Empire.
0:02:38 > 0:02:41It's here at Kew where it all began,
0:02:41 > 0:02:45where a feisty woman, Marianne North, was inspired to collect
0:02:45 > 0:02:49and paint the most remarkable plants, travel to the far corners
0:02:49 > 0:02:52of the world, and bend the rules of tradition.
0:02:56 > 0:02:59For me, Marianne North is a visionary,
0:02:59 > 0:03:04a hidden treasure whose life and work merit exploration.
0:03:04 > 0:03:06At a time when women occupied the drawing-room,
0:03:06 > 0:03:11this Victorian trailblazer openly shuns domestic stereotypes.
0:03:11 > 0:03:16She travels across five continents, discovers unknown species,
0:03:16 > 0:03:19and brings the natural world alive in the most mesmerising way.
0:03:21 > 0:03:24I've grown up taking my right as a woman for granted.
0:03:24 > 0:03:27I vote, I work, I have choices.
0:03:27 > 0:03:31Marianne lives at a time when the very idea of educated women
0:03:31 > 0:03:33is ridiculed. The Royal Society of Science
0:03:33 > 0:03:38didn't admit the first female Fellow until 1945,
0:03:38 > 0:03:43almost three decades after women won the vote in 1918.
0:03:43 > 0:03:46It's a testament to her strength
0:03:46 > 0:03:49that Marianne defies those boundaries.
0:03:49 > 0:03:53Marianne is certainly extraordinary in many ways.
0:03:53 > 0:03:56I think her outlook on life is quite unusual.
0:03:57 > 0:04:01She undoubtedly lives a life less ordinary
0:04:01 > 0:04:07and seeks out thrilling and adventurous experiences.
0:04:07 > 0:04:11Marianne's adventurous spirit and curious mind is evident
0:04:11 > 0:04:12from a young age.
0:04:12 > 0:04:16Born in Hastings in 1830, her father, Frederick North,
0:04:16 > 0:04:18a well-connected and wealthy landowner,
0:04:18 > 0:04:22encourages her passion for the natural world,
0:04:22 > 0:04:24and Kew Gardens.
0:04:27 > 0:04:29It's like a natural playground...
0:04:31 > 0:04:34..where London society, botanists and scientists,
0:04:34 > 0:04:38came to enjoy and learn about the extraordinary life of plants.
0:04:41 > 0:04:43It can also lay claim to being
0:04:43 > 0:04:46one of the most biodiverse places on Earth.
0:04:48 > 0:04:51For me, Kew Gardens is a wondrous canopy
0:04:51 > 0:04:54of ever-changing earthly beauty
0:04:54 > 0:04:57and it's incredible to think that it was just as wondrous
0:04:57 > 0:05:01in Victorian times for the intrepid Marianne North.
0:05:07 > 0:05:11It's on a visit in 1856, when Marianne was 26,
0:05:11 > 0:05:16that Frederick North brings his daughter here to the Palm House.
0:05:22 > 0:05:26For Marianne, it's like walking into a fantastical, alien world.
0:05:28 > 0:05:31This is one of the wonders of the Victorian age.
0:05:33 > 0:05:37Half an acre of iron and glass.
0:05:41 > 0:05:44The Palm House opens in 1848
0:05:44 > 0:05:47and is the brainchild of Sir William Hooker,
0:05:47 > 0:05:51Kew's first official director and friend of Frederick North.
0:05:52 > 0:05:56This symbol of the British Empire literally brings the tropics
0:05:56 > 0:05:58to the heart of Victorian Britain
0:05:58 > 0:06:00and to the awestruck Marianne North.
0:06:04 > 0:06:07I'm surrounded by extremely spiky plants.
0:06:07 > 0:06:11But this is the Eastern Cape giant cycad.
0:06:11 > 0:06:16At over 200 years old, it could be the world's oldest pot plant.
0:06:17 > 0:06:21So when Marianne North came here in 1856 with her father,
0:06:21 > 0:06:24this cycad had been on display at Kew for 80 years.
0:06:25 > 0:06:28No wonder it needs to be propped up in its old age!
0:06:30 > 0:06:33It's an absolutely extraordinary plant.
0:06:38 > 0:06:40But there is another plant here
0:06:40 > 0:06:44that is even more thrilling for the young Marianne.
0:06:55 > 0:06:57"Sir William Hooker gave me
0:06:57 > 0:07:00"a hanging bunch of the Amherstia nobilis,
0:07:00 > 0:07:03"one of the grandest flowers in existence.
0:07:03 > 0:07:06"It was the first that had bloomed in England
0:07:06 > 0:07:09"and it made me long to see the tropics."
0:07:10 > 0:07:14This fantastical flower completely captures her imagination.
0:07:14 > 0:07:18It ignites a spark that would, over the next 30 years,
0:07:18 > 0:07:23drive her to conquer the globe and create over 1,000 paintings.
0:07:24 > 0:07:28Now, if you can imagine, for the past five years,
0:07:28 > 0:07:30Marianne has thrived as a watercolour artist,
0:07:30 > 0:07:33constantly painting flowers, landscapes
0:07:33 > 0:07:36and every aspect of the natural world.
0:07:40 > 0:07:42In fact, ever since 1855,
0:07:42 > 0:07:47her father complains of her making a most exclusive business of painting.
0:07:49 > 0:07:53And coming here was like adding fire to her passion.
0:07:55 > 0:08:00Her paintings are very much infused with her identity
0:08:00 > 0:08:02and her feelings and her emotions.
0:08:02 > 0:08:06She didn't have the botanical training
0:08:06 > 0:08:09that a professional technical artist would have had.
0:08:09 > 0:08:12So, Marianne is very much breaking the rules
0:08:12 > 0:08:14because she doesn't really conform
0:08:14 > 0:08:18to anything that's going on at the time.
0:08:18 > 0:08:21She wanted to have control over what appeared on her canvas.
0:08:27 > 0:08:30'Marianne has such a pioneering spirit,
0:08:30 > 0:08:32'the passion with which she paints.
0:08:32 > 0:08:34'I'm curious to know where that came from
0:08:34 > 0:08:38'so I've come to Rougham Hall in Norfolk where she spent her summers,
0:08:38 > 0:08:41'and where her great-great nephew Tom North still lives
0:08:41 > 0:08:44'with his wife Sally and sister Christine.'
0:08:44 > 0:08:46- Hello.- Hello, Tom.
0:08:46 > 0:08:49- Nice to meet you. - Lovely to meet you.
0:08:49 > 0:08:54- Welcome to our little house. - Thank you so much.- Come in.
0:08:54 > 0:08:56- Hello, I'm Christine. - Hello, Emilia.
0:08:56 > 0:08:57- And Sally.- Hi, Sally.
0:08:57 > 0:09:00It's lovely to be able to come here and meet you
0:09:00 > 0:09:04and now to find out a little bit more about Marianne as a person.
0:09:04 > 0:09:05She spent so much time here.
0:09:08 > 0:09:10So, where shall we begin?
0:09:10 > 0:09:12A cup of tea!
0:09:12 > 0:09:15Lovely, thank you so much.
0:09:15 > 0:09:17It's breathtaking when you walk in,
0:09:17 > 0:09:21you can feel the family atmosphere here straightaway,
0:09:21 > 0:09:24just with all the pictures, the colours, the fire.
0:09:26 > 0:09:30Aunt Pop kept these wonderful diaries and inside,
0:09:30 > 0:09:34she has collected every different type of grass
0:09:34 > 0:09:37- that was growing in Norfolk.- Really?
0:09:37 > 0:09:38How lovely!
0:09:40 > 0:09:45'Marianne, known as Aunt Pop, is one of three children.
0:09:45 > 0:09:47'Her father is a Member of Parliament for Hastings
0:09:47 > 0:09:50'and she enjoys a privileged upbringing.'
0:09:50 > 0:09:53He must have been an extraordinary man, I think, of great charm.
0:09:53 > 0:09:55They were very, very close.
0:09:55 > 0:09:58It was him that gave her the nickname Pop.
0:09:58 > 0:10:00We always thought, as children,
0:10:00 > 0:10:03that it was because she was always popping off to foreign parts.
0:10:03 > 0:10:07But when she was a very little girl, she was always his favourite child.
0:10:09 > 0:10:11Both of them loved the countryside.
0:10:11 > 0:10:14They used to ride round the garden
0:10:14 > 0:10:18and they also studied the plants.
0:10:18 > 0:10:21They just enjoyed a simple country life.
0:10:23 > 0:10:25So, these are Marianne's pictures?
0:10:25 > 0:10:27Those are her own pictures, yes.
0:10:27 > 0:10:30I think she must have painted those when she was quite young
0:10:30 > 0:10:33cos they look to me like watercolours.
0:10:34 > 0:10:38And there's her father sitting in the garden, reading.
0:10:38 > 0:10:39Yes, there he is.
0:10:39 > 0:10:41And there he's reading on the bench.
0:10:41 > 0:10:47And they spent a lot of time in their garden at Hastings.
0:10:48 > 0:10:51- They're amazing gardens, from these pictures.- I know.
0:10:51 > 0:10:55Her father built three greenhouses in the gardens
0:10:55 > 0:10:58with different temperatures in each house,
0:10:58 > 0:11:00rather like at Kew.
0:11:00 > 0:11:03They worked in the greenhouses pretty well every day.
0:11:03 > 0:11:07And so do you think he taught Marianne about plants?
0:11:07 > 0:11:12I would think he was pretty knowledgeable as well.
0:11:12 > 0:11:15But I think she sort of overtook him, as it were.
0:11:17 > 0:11:20She was always mad about plants and she used to wash the plants
0:11:20 > 0:11:22and tend the sick ones.
0:11:22 > 0:11:25Her mind seems to have been slightly different
0:11:25 > 0:11:27to the average Victorian lady.
0:11:27 > 0:11:31To do something so spirited, to go off on these travels,
0:11:31 > 0:11:34makes her slightly unique for the time.
0:11:36 > 0:11:39I think she was a very independent spirit.
0:11:39 > 0:11:44- Yes.- I know her father sometimes used to get worn out by her.
0:11:44 > 0:11:47- She was so energetic! - THEY LAUGH
0:11:49 > 0:11:52But Marianne was definitely number one in his life, I think.
0:11:54 > 0:11:56She was the absolute apple of his eye.
0:11:58 > 0:12:01"My first recollections relate to my father.
0:12:01 > 0:12:06"He was, from first to last, the one idol and friend of my life
0:12:06 > 0:12:10"and apart from him, I had little pleasure and no secrets."
0:12:12 > 0:12:15Away from the quiet summers in Rougham Hall,
0:12:15 > 0:12:19the North family also lead a very sociable and bohemian lifestyle.
0:12:19 > 0:12:22Their Hastings home is a revolving door
0:12:22 > 0:12:24to musicians and famous artists.
0:12:24 > 0:12:29William Henry Hunt and Edward Lear are regular visitors.
0:12:29 > 0:12:33At an early age, Marianne is exposed to untraditional influences
0:12:33 > 0:12:36and feels confident in being different.
0:12:39 > 0:12:42"Someone told my mother that I was very uneducated,
0:12:42 > 0:12:45"which was perfectly true, so I was sent to school.
0:12:45 > 0:12:48"School life was hateful to me."
0:12:49 > 0:12:52Marianne's school life is short-lived
0:12:52 > 0:12:54and she's left to her own devices.
0:12:54 > 0:12:57But she turns out to be well read, very knowledgeable
0:12:57 > 0:13:00and almost entirely self-taught.
0:13:02 > 0:13:05The Norths were an intellectual family
0:13:05 > 0:13:09and that gave Aunt Pop confidence to do her own thing.
0:13:11 > 0:13:15She had a particular way of coding, almost,
0:13:15 > 0:13:18where she would sign each painting.
0:13:18 > 0:13:22And you can see here, it's hidden away, you can see here.
0:13:22 > 0:13:26Look! That's fantastic!
0:13:26 > 0:13:29- That says so much about her character, doesn't it?- Yes, it does.
0:13:29 > 0:13:31So, is that the same with all her paintings?
0:13:31 > 0:13:33You have to search for her signature?
0:13:33 > 0:13:35You have to search, indeed you do.
0:13:36 > 0:13:38- I won't tell you where it is!- OK.
0:13:42 > 0:13:44- There it is.- You've found it.
0:13:46 > 0:13:47It's like being a child.
0:13:47 > 0:13:49It is, yes.
0:13:49 > 0:13:52It's so clever, I love it.
0:13:52 > 0:13:55Marianne rather relished being quite different
0:13:55 > 0:13:59and sometimes perhaps even played up to it.
0:13:59 > 0:14:03It would have been expected for most women to simply get married,
0:14:03 > 0:14:06have children, and stay within the domestic environment,
0:14:06 > 0:14:11whereas she, from quite an early age, was striving to be different.
0:14:17 > 0:14:22Marianne grows up here in Hastings where that freedom to be different,
0:14:22 > 0:14:24to follow her ambition,
0:14:24 > 0:14:27is nurtured by both her father and her mother, Janet.
0:14:29 > 0:14:33Frederick North and his family clearly enjoyed travelling
0:14:33 > 0:14:37and seeing how people lived on the Continent and elsewhere.
0:14:39 > 0:14:42I think they were quite a close-knit family
0:14:42 > 0:14:47and weren't totally bound by every strict Victorian convention.
0:14:52 > 0:14:55Marianne's mother dies when Marianne is 25.
0:14:55 > 0:14:59It doesn't merit much of a mention in her autobiography,
0:14:59 > 0:15:03except to say that her last few weeks had been dreary.
0:15:08 > 0:15:13But it's an important moment because Frederick North never remarries
0:15:13 > 0:15:16and Marianne makes a promise never to leave his side.
0:15:17 > 0:15:19The two remain constant companions,
0:15:19 > 0:15:23travelling extensively throughout Europe and the Middle East.
0:15:25 > 0:15:30Marianne captures their expeditions in exquisite watercolour drawings.
0:15:30 > 0:15:33But 1868 marks a creative turning point -
0:15:33 > 0:15:39Australian artist Robert Dowling gives her her first lesson
0:15:39 > 0:15:41in oil painting. She describes the experience
0:15:41 > 0:15:44as "a vice like dram drinking".
0:15:46 > 0:15:49From then on, Marianne was addicted.
0:15:57 > 0:16:02Marianne North's world suddenly collapses when, in October 1869,
0:16:02 > 0:16:06her father, Frederick North, dies.
0:16:10 > 0:16:14"The last words in his mouth were, 'Come and give me a kiss, Pop.
0:16:14 > 0:16:16"'I am only going to sleep.'
0:16:16 > 0:16:18"He never woke again
0:16:18 > 0:16:20"and left me indeed alone."
0:16:22 > 0:16:27According to her own account, she goes into a kind of hibernation
0:16:27 > 0:16:33and then emerges, with this very British stiff upper lip response.
0:16:35 > 0:16:39"I could not bear to talk of him or of anything else
0:16:39 > 0:16:44"and resolved to keep out of the way of all friends and relations.
0:16:44 > 0:16:46"I left the house at Hastings forever."
0:16:49 > 0:16:53Marianne, nearly 40 years old and mistress of her own destiny,
0:16:53 > 0:16:55sets off on her travels.
0:16:55 > 0:16:59She possesses a large fortune and can do absolutely as she pleases.
0:17:00 > 0:17:04Finally, her rage to see the tropics is fulfilled.
0:17:04 > 0:17:08Marianne's gateway to the globe begins in America.
0:17:08 > 0:17:10Her horizons are magnified.
0:17:10 > 0:17:13She is enchanted by grand, giant trees
0:17:13 > 0:17:15and the breathtaking Niagara Falls.
0:17:15 > 0:17:21She visits a dozen countries in just six years, always on the move,
0:17:21 > 0:17:25always painting and always a lone traveller.
0:17:27 > 0:17:30Unlike our click-easy vacations,
0:17:30 > 0:17:34travelling 150 years ago was difficult and dangerous.
0:17:34 > 0:17:38Marianne would have easily spent up to two years at sea,
0:17:38 > 0:17:40enduring cramped, unsanitary conditions,
0:17:40 > 0:17:43violent storms and severe sickness.
0:17:44 > 0:17:48It's seen as an unsuitable pursuit for the weaker sex,
0:17:48 > 0:17:52unless one has what were called letters of introduction.
0:17:53 > 0:17:57Marianne's letters of introduction were absolutely vital for her
0:17:57 > 0:18:02to gain the kind of experiences that she had.
0:18:02 > 0:18:05These letters operated like a 19th-century social network
0:18:05 > 0:18:09that connected British upper classes around the Empire.
0:18:09 > 0:18:14It ensured that she was introduced to a lot of intellectual ideas,
0:18:14 > 0:18:18scientific thought, challenging debates,
0:18:18 > 0:18:22many things that other women simply didn't encounter at that time.
0:18:22 > 0:18:27But it isn't the chance to rub shoulders with high society
0:18:27 > 0:18:29that really excites her.
0:18:29 > 0:18:34What she wants is to paint in the most far-flung places on Earth.
0:18:37 > 0:18:40"I had long had the dream of going to some tropical country
0:18:40 > 0:18:44"to paint its peculiar vegetation on the spot
0:18:44 > 0:18:45"in natural luxuriance."
0:18:47 > 0:18:50I've followed Marianne to one of these tropical countries.
0:18:50 > 0:18:53This is Sarawak, north Borneo.
0:18:54 > 0:18:57She travelled here to paint curious plants,
0:18:57 > 0:19:01including those strange flesh-eating pitcher plants.
0:19:02 > 0:19:05"The loveliest and most extraordinary productions
0:19:05 > 0:19:07"in all Malaya."
0:19:07 > 0:19:121876 finds Marianne steaming in from Singapore to Kuching,
0:19:12 > 0:19:15the Malaysian part of Borneo.
0:19:15 > 0:19:19She arrived by boat, soaking in all this exotic difference.
0:19:22 > 0:19:26"The glorious vegetation dazzled me with its magnificence.
0:19:26 > 0:19:28"What was I to paint first?"
0:19:33 > 0:19:37North Borneo was a bizarre outpost like no other.
0:19:37 > 0:19:42In the 19th century, explorer James Brooke helped crush a rebellion
0:19:42 > 0:19:44against the Sultan of Brunei.
0:19:44 > 0:19:49He was given Sarawak and the title of White Rajah.
0:19:50 > 0:19:52By the time Marianne North comes here,
0:19:52 > 0:19:54with the inevitable letter of introduction,
0:19:54 > 0:19:57the second White Rajah, nephew Charles Brooke,
0:19:57 > 0:20:00was firmly in charge.
0:20:00 > 0:20:05He rules with a staff of 20 English officers, 100 soldiers, and a wife,
0:20:05 > 0:20:09titled the Ranee, who he imported from England to produce an heir.
0:20:11 > 0:20:13'The Astana, meaning Palace,
0:20:13 > 0:20:17'was the official residence of the Rajah and Ranee.
0:20:17 > 0:20:19'It was Marianne's first stop in Kuching
0:20:19 > 0:20:22'and where I am meeting historian John Walker
0:20:22 > 0:20:24'to talk about her intriguing visit.'
0:20:25 > 0:20:29When Marianne arrived, the Rajah was away, so the Ranee was by herself
0:20:29 > 0:20:31and she really welcomed Marianne.
0:20:31 > 0:20:32Yes. And so when she arrived,
0:20:32 > 0:20:35there was quite an interesting introduction, wasn't there?
0:20:35 > 0:20:38And the Ranee said something about Marianne's appearance.
0:20:38 > 0:20:39- She was not flattering! - No, she wasn't!
0:20:39 > 0:20:42She said she had a big nose and thin lips.
0:20:42 > 0:20:45But on the other hand, Marianne described her as being beautiful.
0:20:45 > 0:20:47The Ranee had many admirable qualities,
0:20:47 > 0:20:50but nobody else describes her as beautiful.
0:20:54 > 0:20:58'We learn a lot about Marianne in the Ranee's autobiography.
0:20:58 > 0:21:02'The account of her globetrotting guest is playfully revealing.'
0:21:02 > 0:21:04The Ranee clearly enjoyed her being here.
0:21:04 > 0:21:06But she was trying.
0:21:06 > 0:21:08There was a restlessness to her.
0:21:11 > 0:21:14"After luncheon, Miss North was hurtlingly energetic.
0:21:14 > 0:21:17"With the thermometer at 80 degrees in the shade,
0:21:17 > 0:21:19"I was longing for my siesta.
0:21:19 > 0:21:22"'What?' said my friend. 'I never heard of such a thing!'"
0:21:24 > 0:21:27Marianne is clearly strong-willed and enthusiastic,
0:21:27 > 0:21:29to the point of obsession.
0:21:31 > 0:21:34Do you think there was something more to her need
0:21:34 > 0:21:36to travel to such far-flung places?
0:21:36 > 0:21:38Emilia, it wasn't an interest, it was a passion.
0:21:38 > 0:21:39- Yes.- It was an absolute passion.
0:21:39 > 0:21:41- She was driven.- Yes. - And you have to remember
0:21:41 > 0:21:43that she actually was a botanist.
0:21:43 > 0:21:46We think of her as an artist because she painted,
0:21:46 > 0:21:48but in the absence of colour photography,
0:21:48 > 0:21:50those paintings are a vital contribution to science.
0:21:50 > 0:21:53And it was a male dominated world.
0:21:53 > 0:21:57- Yes.- She wanted to be taken seriously by Hooker,
0:21:57 > 0:22:00who was the director of Kew Gardens, and he did take her seriously.
0:22:00 > 0:22:03This is an extraordinary achievement for a 19th-century woman.
0:22:05 > 0:22:07Marianne was different
0:22:07 > 0:22:09because she wasn't just travelling for the point of travelling.
0:22:09 > 0:22:12- She was consumed by this passion. - Yes.- To paint plants.
0:22:12 > 0:22:16Yes, and she didn't seem bothered by the heat or the dangers in her quest
0:22:16 > 0:22:18- for finding them.- She was very practical about it.
0:22:18 > 0:22:21So the Ranee was shocked, she comments she has short petticoats
0:22:21 > 0:22:23- which she always seems to have up! - That's right!
0:22:23 > 0:22:25And then she's in the boat and she says that she sat there
0:22:25 > 0:22:28with her knees "en evidence".
0:22:28 > 0:22:30- It's just a fantastic image, isn't it?- Yes.
0:22:33 > 0:22:36'Once Marianne finishes shocking and charming her hostess,
0:22:36 > 0:22:38'she sets her mind on one purpose -
0:22:38 > 0:22:41'finding those peculiar pitcher plants.'
0:22:41 > 0:22:43She's like a child in her excitement.
0:22:43 > 0:22:46The very day she arrives, she tells the Ranee,
0:22:46 > 0:22:48"I want to go and see some pitcher plants."
0:22:48 > 0:22:49The Ranee's never heard of them,
0:22:49 > 0:22:51so they have to ask one of the house boys
0:22:51 > 0:22:53and he knows where they are in the forest.
0:22:53 > 0:22:56So she grabs the Ranee, they jump in a little canoe,
0:22:56 > 0:22:58row up the river and down a creek,
0:22:58 > 0:23:01clamber through the mud and they find a selection of pitcher plants.
0:23:03 > 0:23:04And she's delighted.
0:23:04 > 0:23:07- Yes.- So the next day the Ranee says, "What do you want to do?"
0:23:07 > 0:23:10She said, "Do? I'm going to paint while they're fresh."
0:23:10 > 0:23:12She spent the entire day painting them.
0:23:15 > 0:23:19"And, from that moment, I did very truly love Miss North.
0:23:19 > 0:23:24"She was an artist, she felt the beauty of our surroundings.
0:23:25 > 0:23:29"She loved flowers and all beautiful things."
0:23:33 > 0:23:37Marianne North's work has a pulsating liveliness
0:23:37 > 0:23:42that is drawn, I think, through her use of oil painting.
0:23:42 > 0:23:47Botanical drawings would usually be in pencil or watercolour.
0:23:49 > 0:23:52By using oils and refusing to follow
0:23:52 > 0:23:54traditional codes of scientific illustration,
0:23:54 > 0:23:59Marianne blurs the lines between science and art.
0:23:59 > 0:24:02The thing about North's use of oils is that it is totally natural.
0:24:02 > 0:24:07She just takes the colour, places it onto the paper and mixes it,
0:24:07 > 0:24:08which is quite unusual.
0:24:08 > 0:24:12And given some of the detail that she accomplishes,
0:24:12 > 0:24:13it is quite extraordinary.
0:24:15 > 0:24:17'But what is extraordinary to Marianne
0:24:17 > 0:24:20'isn't just the excitement of painting,
0:24:20 > 0:24:22'it's her botanical curiosity
0:24:22 > 0:24:24'and the hunt of the plant itself.'
0:24:24 > 0:24:25Here I go, Miss North!
0:24:25 > 0:24:29'And now, I want to have a taste of that adventure,
0:24:29 > 0:24:31'to see what excited Marianne,
0:24:31 > 0:24:35'to find those bizarre carnivorous plants.'
0:24:35 > 0:24:37It looks unreal,
0:24:37 > 0:24:40like we're in a film and this is a film set.
0:24:40 > 0:24:41Maybe we are!
0:24:49 > 0:24:53'I'm heading into the depths of a forest south of Kuching.
0:24:53 > 0:24:56'There, Mr Yeo, a local wildlife expert,
0:24:56 > 0:25:00'I hope will make my day "pitcher" perfect.'
0:25:23 > 0:25:26So that must've been why Marianne wanted to come to Borneo.
0:25:26 > 0:25:28Uh-huh. Yes.
0:25:31 > 0:25:35Ah! A sheer cliff face!
0:25:35 > 0:25:38'There are 30-40 species of pitcher plants in Borneo,
0:25:38 > 0:25:40'around 20 in Sarawak alone.
0:25:40 > 0:25:42'It's no wonder Marianne came here,
0:25:42 > 0:25:45'battling challenging terrains to catch a glimpse.'
0:25:45 > 0:25:47- Are you all right?- Thank you.
0:25:54 > 0:25:57- Are you all right?- Do you think Marianne climbed cliffs like this?
0:26:15 > 0:26:18So it's like an Easter egg hunt, but with pitcher plants!
0:26:18 > 0:26:19Come on.
0:26:22 > 0:26:24Oh, my goodness!
0:26:26 > 0:26:27I found one!
0:26:31 > 0:26:35- Wow, they are extraordinary!- Yes. - I've never seen anything like them.
0:26:35 > 0:26:39- They're well-named as pitcher plants, aren't they?- Yep.
0:26:52 > 0:26:54- I see one there.- Where?
0:26:54 > 0:26:56Yes, yes. OK, come.
0:26:56 > 0:26:57Come this way.
0:26:59 > 0:27:01- See?- Wow!
0:27:01 > 0:27:03- See?- They're huge!
0:27:03 > 0:27:05- OK.- What would happen if you touched that?
0:27:10 > 0:27:13Are you serious? What, if you put your finger in there?
0:27:15 > 0:27:16OK.
0:27:16 > 0:27:21'Thankfully harmless for humans, but not for unsuspecting insects.'
0:27:32 > 0:27:33Oh, I see, it helps them get up there!
0:27:33 > 0:27:36- Yes!- So it's clever, it lures the ants.
0:27:36 > 0:27:39- Yes.- They climb up and then they fall in.
0:27:39 > 0:27:41- So it's like a trap.- Yes.
0:27:41 > 0:27:43Fascinating!
0:27:45 > 0:27:48I've never seen anything like that in my life.
0:27:49 > 0:27:52These are truly intricate plants,
0:27:52 > 0:27:56trapping ants and other insects that slip down the side of the pitcher
0:27:56 > 0:27:59into a pool of digestive enzyme.
0:27:59 > 0:28:03It's sticky and sweet down there and once the prey is in there,
0:28:03 > 0:28:05the body slowly dissolves.
0:28:06 > 0:28:08It's a truly predatory plant.
0:28:12 > 0:28:14Oh, my goodness, look at this one!
0:28:14 > 0:28:16It's huge!
0:28:16 > 0:28:18Look at it!
0:28:18 > 0:28:20It's so beautiful,
0:28:20 > 0:28:22the markings on the skin,
0:28:22 > 0:28:24that aubergine and green colour.
0:28:25 > 0:28:29Not only beautiful, but it's an incredible mechanism.
0:28:30 > 0:28:33Having seen the pitcher plants up close,
0:28:33 > 0:28:37I can totally see why Marianne wanted to paint them.
0:28:37 > 0:28:40But I haven't yet seen the most impressive one of all,
0:28:40 > 0:28:44the Nepenthes northiana, named after her.
0:28:44 > 0:28:48To do that, I have to reach the limestone mountains
0:28:48 > 0:28:52where they grow and cross the dense Sarawak jungle.
0:28:54 > 0:28:58Marianne North stepped into the realm of the man.
0:28:58 > 0:29:01I think she wanted to be taken seriously by her peers.
0:29:01 > 0:29:05She didn't want to be perceived as frivolous.
0:29:05 > 0:29:07She wanted to be perceived as a serious person.
0:29:07 > 0:29:10Part of that seriousness was to travel
0:29:10 > 0:29:11and do what it was that she did
0:29:11 > 0:29:15and, quite often, in dangerous circumstances.
0:29:17 > 0:29:19But with all its dangers,
0:29:19 > 0:29:22the wild forest is still a botanical paradise.
0:29:30 > 0:29:34"The banks of the river were a continual wonder all the way up.
0:29:36 > 0:29:42"It almost took my breath away with its lovely, fairy-like beauty,
0:29:42 > 0:29:48"entirely surrounded by virgin forests and grand mountains."
0:29:51 > 0:29:53I'm following in Marianne's footsteps,
0:29:53 > 0:29:55not only in search of pitcher plants,
0:29:55 > 0:29:59but of all the other amazing flora she found.
0:30:02 > 0:30:06I'd love to see one of the staghorn ferns that she painted.
0:30:08 > 0:30:12Marianne's capturing plants in the wild before they disappear.
0:30:16 > 0:30:18It's so dramatic, this scene,
0:30:18 > 0:30:21under the canopy of these enormously tall trees.
0:30:23 > 0:30:27And these ones that hang over the river, they're almost Jurassic.
0:30:28 > 0:30:30They look like prehistoric animals,
0:30:30 > 0:30:33you can totally understand why Marianne loved painting them.
0:30:40 > 0:30:44'Guiding me through this tangle of trees and vegetation
0:30:44 > 0:30:45'is ranger Rosli.'
0:30:48 > 0:30:49It's super-humid, isn't it?
0:30:49 > 0:30:54- Oh, yes.- Where are you taking me, Rosli?
0:31:01 > 0:31:06I thought I was just coming to look at plants and gentle wildlife!
0:31:09 > 0:31:11Well, I'm going to stamp my feet, then.
0:31:11 > 0:31:14Not my favourite bit of our trip.
0:31:14 > 0:31:16What?
0:31:18 > 0:31:21No! My goodness, let's get out of here!
0:31:26 > 0:31:28What happened?
0:31:30 > 0:31:31Yeah?
0:31:39 > 0:31:41In front of you?
0:31:50 > 0:31:52No!
0:31:59 > 0:32:02Better than you being taken by the python, hey?
0:32:14 > 0:32:17I've always thought of mangroves as quite spooky.
0:32:18 > 0:32:20And they are.
0:32:27 > 0:32:30'By all accounts, including her own,
0:32:30 > 0:32:34'our fearless explorer relished being in the wild
0:32:34 > 0:32:35'from dawn till dusk.'
0:32:35 > 0:32:38"The torment of high society was a penance.
0:32:38 > 0:32:43"But through here, at least, was a perfect world of wonders."
0:32:51 > 0:32:53The noise here is amazing, isn't it?
0:32:53 > 0:32:57Hearing the insect life and the birdlife, animal life.
0:33:11 > 0:33:12There he is.
0:33:14 > 0:33:15Oh!
0:33:17 > 0:33:18Yes.
0:33:19 > 0:33:21Yep.
0:33:23 > 0:33:24That's extraordinary!
0:33:26 > 0:33:28There's nothing quite prepares you
0:33:28 > 0:33:31for seeing an animal like this in the wild.
0:33:32 > 0:33:34He's a really unusual-looking character.
0:33:37 > 0:33:40It's so exciting, it's incredible.
0:33:50 > 0:33:52How on earth did Marianne do this?
0:34:05 > 0:34:09It's hard to imagine how Marianne coped with the terrain
0:34:09 > 0:34:13and the heat in her Victorian dress.
0:34:13 > 0:34:15With help, of course,
0:34:15 > 0:34:19but carrying all her personal belongings and her art equipment
0:34:19 > 0:34:21and she was so anxious to examine the plants
0:34:21 > 0:34:23that she didn't want to be carried
0:34:23 > 0:34:26in case she missed out on seeing them.
0:34:30 > 0:34:31Thank you.
0:34:33 > 0:34:35Oh, my goodness!
0:34:35 > 0:34:37Is that what I think it is?
0:34:38 > 0:34:39- Yes.- Is it a crinum?- Yes!
0:34:39 > 0:34:42Crinum northianum, named after Marianne?
0:34:42 > 0:34:43Yes!
0:34:49 > 0:34:52And it is so exactly like what she paints.
0:34:52 > 0:34:56Marion's depiction of this species in its natural surroundings
0:34:56 > 0:34:59is sent to Kew, where a botanist realises
0:34:59 > 0:35:01it's unknown to Western science.
0:35:01 > 0:35:05It's officially named after her in 1882.
0:35:06 > 0:35:08Marianne North is painting in the wild.
0:35:08 > 0:35:12That is a hugely different process as an artist.
0:35:12 > 0:35:18She's not assessing the specimen as a scientific illustrator would.
0:35:18 > 0:35:22Rather, she is in there making a very emotional representation.
0:35:25 > 0:35:27I can see why she fell in love with it here.
0:35:30 > 0:35:34But behind this enchanting natural beauty,
0:35:34 > 0:35:37Marianne faces many hidden dangers.
0:35:38 > 0:35:41This is an age of primitive medicine.
0:35:41 > 0:35:46Travel's a risk, tropical disease is rife and Marianne isn't immune.
0:35:48 > 0:35:51"I had a terrible attack of my old pain.
0:35:51 > 0:35:56"I was too weak to think of starting on any expedition for some time."
0:35:58 > 0:36:03Over the course of her travels, she comes down with typhoid, influenza,
0:36:03 > 0:36:06rheumatic fever, not to mention broken bones.
0:36:06 > 0:36:10What she did was hard and treacherous.
0:36:12 > 0:36:14But she never gave up.
0:36:15 > 0:36:17And neither will I.
0:36:17 > 0:36:21I'm back on the hunt for that special pitcher plant,
0:36:21 > 0:36:23the elusive Nepenthes northiana.
0:36:23 > 0:36:27It's rare, lives at high altitude,
0:36:27 > 0:36:30and finding it is not for the faint-hearted.
0:36:32 > 0:36:36Like Marianne, I have to travel 15 miles into the jungle
0:36:36 > 0:36:43over broken bridges, through narrow caves, up Jurassic-like roots,
0:36:43 > 0:36:47to reach the only place where the Nepenthes northiana might be found -
0:36:47 > 0:36:51the ancient limestone mountains of Tegora.
0:36:54 > 0:36:57When making her way through trackless terrain,
0:36:57 > 0:36:59Marianne North has only one rule -
0:36:59 > 0:37:04"not going willingly anywhere where I could not see my feet."
0:37:09 > 0:37:13'But if I have any hope of seeing the Nepenthes northiana,
0:37:13 > 0:37:15'I have to follow my own rules.
0:37:15 > 0:37:17'The only way is up.'
0:37:17 > 0:37:21Yeah. Good.
0:37:21 > 0:37:22Ready to climb.
0:37:26 > 0:37:30INDISTINCT INSTRUCTION OK.
0:38:03 > 0:38:04Let's see if there are any here.
0:38:07 > 0:38:09Where are you?
0:38:18 > 0:38:20No.
0:38:34 > 0:38:37I think that's them!
0:38:37 > 0:38:40The elusive Nepenthes northiana.
0:38:41 > 0:38:45They're much redder than the pitcher plants I've already seen
0:38:45 > 0:38:48and they've got a much larger mouth.
0:38:51 > 0:38:52So high up.
0:38:54 > 0:38:56Out of reach, but not out of sight.
0:38:56 > 0:38:59I'm so excited!
0:39:10 > 0:39:12Wow!
0:39:12 > 0:39:13What a view!
0:39:14 > 0:39:18It's absolutely incredible and worth all the sweat and climbing
0:39:18 > 0:39:21to have caught a glimpse of this rare treasure
0:39:21 > 0:39:23in its natural habitat.
0:39:23 > 0:39:25And it was special when Marianne found it
0:39:25 > 0:39:27because no-one had ever seen it before.
0:39:27 > 0:39:29But it's even more special for me
0:39:29 > 0:39:34because the Nepenthes northiana might not be around for much longer.
0:39:34 > 0:39:37This particular species is now endangered,
0:39:37 > 0:39:42its habitat being destroyed by pesticides and quarrying -
0:39:42 > 0:39:46a fact that Marianne recognised 150 years ago.
0:39:50 > 0:39:54"It broke one's heart to think of man the civiliser
0:39:54 > 0:39:55"wasting treasures in a few years
0:39:55 > 0:40:00"to which savages and animals had done no harm for centuries."
0:40:02 > 0:40:05In spite of her discovery, there is no stopping Miss North.
0:40:06 > 0:40:08She then travels across southern Asia,
0:40:08 > 0:40:11ending up in India for 15 months,
0:40:11 > 0:40:13where she painted over 200 pictures.
0:40:15 > 0:40:19She finally returns to London in 1879.
0:40:19 > 0:40:21BIG BEN CHIMES
0:40:27 > 0:40:30What she finds is a very different scene
0:40:30 > 0:40:33to when she abandoned British shores ten years ago.
0:40:33 > 0:40:36Scientists, artists and London society
0:40:36 > 0:40:39are now starting to take her seriously.
0:40:42 > 0:40:45Marianne exhibits some of her work at the Conduit Street Gallery.
0:40:45 > 0:40:48Many flock to the event,
0:40:48 > 0:40:51proving to the world that she is a true botanical explorer
0:40:51 > 0:40:53as well as an artist.
0:40:53 > 0:40:58"I am so puffed up with praise bestowed on my Tenerife work.
0:40:58 > 0:41:01"I'm weak enough to like flattery better than snubbing!"
0:41:05 > 0:41:07She was overwhelmed by the attention,
0:41:07 > 0:41:10and soon an idea began to form in her mind.
0:41:10 > 0:41:14Later that year, while waiting for a train at Shrewsbury Station,
0:41:14 > 0:41:17she wrote to Sir Joseph Hooker,
0:41:17 > 0:41:20asking if he would accept her paintings as a gift to Kew.
0:41:26 > 0:41:28"It would be a great happiness
0:41:28 > 0:41:31"to know my life had not been spent in vain -
0:41:31 > 0:41:33"that I can leave something behind
0:41:33 > 0:41:35"which will add to the pleasure of others."
0:41:37 > 0:41:40Marianne refers to her first exhibition paintings
0:41:40 > 0:41:43as "my children from Conduit Street".
0:41:43 > 0:41:47After her father's death, it is art, not relationships,
0:41:47 > 0:41:48that she yearns for.
0:41:48 > 0:41:52In fact, she describes marriage as a terrible experiment.
0:41:54 > 0:41:58Marianne North was pursued by suitors,
0:41:58 > 0:42:01but she never followed through.
0:42:01 > 0:42:05She wasn't particularly serious about their affections towards her.
0:42:07 > 0:42:10"I have no love to give you, or anyone.
0:42:10 > 0:42:13"It has all gone with him.
0:42:13 > 0:42:17"I have not the smallest intention of marrying you or anybody else."
0:42:19 > 0:42:23But there is one man who would become Marianne's closest friend
0:42:23 > 0:42:27since her father. In him, she finds a soulmate.
0:42:27 > 0:42:29With the case of Dr Burnell,
0:42:29 > 0:42:32North is very taken by him, I think.
0:42:32 > 0:42:35She admires his intellect.
0:42:35 > 0:42:38"Dear Dr Burnell,
0:42:38 > 0:42:41"I am not the only one to whom it will be a joy to see you again.
0:42:41 > 0:42:43"There must be very many."
0:42:43 > 0:42:47I think it was a deliberate choice not to marry
0:42:47 > 0:42:51because it may well have stifled her project.
0:42:51 > 0:42:55"So, you need not fear my designs on your freedom."
0:42:59 > 0:43:04For Marianne, marriage meant a loss of freedom.
0:43:04 > 0:43:05If she had have married,
0:43:05 > 0:43:09her finances would have become her husband's.
0:43:09 > 0:43:12Inevitably, marriage would have also constrained her
0:43:12 > 0:43:15in terms of how she chose to live.
0:43:18 > 0:43:21Since her father died, she didn't know what to do with herself,
0:43:21 > 0:43:22other than paint.
0:43:26 > 0:43:29She did carry that grief around with her
0:43:29 > 0:43:33and I don't think that she would have known how to really sit still.
0:43:36 > 0:43:39It does make me think that it was her love
0:43:39 > 0:43:43for plant hunting and painting that left no room for anything else.
0:43:43 > 0:43:45Her work IS her life.
0:43:51 > 0:43:55But her life's work extended far beyond just her paintings.
0:43:59 > 0:44:01She wanted recognition,
0:44:01 > 0:44:05to make an indelible impression on the scientific establishment,
0:44:05 > 0:44:06and she did just that.
0:44:15 > 0:44:18I'm back at Kew, to find out exactly how Marianne made her mark
0:44:18 > 0:44:22on the male-dominated world of natural science.
0:44:23 > 0:44:28Kew was and is the unrivalled authority on botanical research.
0:44:28 > 0:44:31In the days before genetics,
0:44:31 > 0:44:34microscopy and high-res photography,
0:44:34 > 0:44:38a carefully dried specimen would be sent here, to the herbarium,
0:44:38 > 0:44:40to be described and recorded.
0:44:40 > 0:44:44So this looks like a very old specimen to me.
0:44:44 > 0:44:46Yes, this is quite old.
0:44:46 > 0:44:48This is a kniphofia.
0:44:48 > 0:44:49Otherwise known as the red-hot poker?
0:44:49 > 0:44:52Yes. Commonly known as the red-hot poker.
0:44:52 > 0:44:55It's actually Kniphofia northiae,
0:44:55 > 0:44:57named after the lady who collected it.
0:44:57 > 0:45:00- Marianne North.- Yes, Marianne North.
0:45:00 > 0:45:05And she did so in 1883, when she made a painting of it.
0:45:05 > 0:45:08I can actually show you what this looks like,
0:45:08 > 0:45:10which is in here,
0:45:10 > 0:45:12when I can find the right page.
0:45:12 > 0:45:15- There we are.- Ah!
0:45:15 > 0:45:19So, a little bit more recognisable, perhaps, as a red-hot poker there.
0:45:19 > 0:45:23- Yes.- Than this dried specimen here, which has obviously lost its colour.
0:45:23 > 0:45:25It is very, very old.
0:45:25 > 0:45:28It is very old and very precious.
0:45:28 > 0:45:31'The red-hot poker is only one of the four species,
0:45:31 > 0:45:34'including a genus, named after Marianne.
0:45:34 > 0:45:37'There is the Northea seychellana,
0:45:37 > 0:45:40'the beautiful Crinum northianum that I spotted in the jungle,
0:45:40 > 0:45:45'and, of course, the magnificent Nepenthes northiana.'
0:45:45 > 0:45:47I can't believe that I'm actually seeing it here.
0:45:49 > 0:45:50Is that quite unusual,
0:45:50 > 0:45:53to have your name permanently attached to a plant?
0:45:53 > 0:45:56Yes, it is. I mean,
0:45:56 > 0:45:59there are obviously lots of people who have a plant named after them.
0:45:59 > 0:46:03- Right.- But generally speaking, they were professionals.
0:46:03 > 0:46:05Marianne wasn't a professional scientist herself.
0:46:05 > 0:46:08And so, yes, it was really quite unusual.
0:46:08 > 0:46:11- Incredible.- Yes, she was quite an incredible woman
0:46:11 > 0:46:13- in many, many respects.- Yeah.
0:46:13 > 0:46:16'There's no doubt that Marianne's artistic vision
0:46:16 > 0:46:20'was drastically radical in its time.
0:46:20 > 0:46:23'Traditional scientific illustration
0:46:23 > 0:46:26'depicts a single plant on a white background,
0:46:26 > 0:46:29'whereas Marianne places the plant in its natural habitat,
0:46:29 > 0:46:32'surrounded by other plants and animals -
0:46:32 > 0:46:35'a vision that reflected a controversial
0:46:35 > 0:46:38'and essentially Darwinian perspective.'
0:46:38 > 0:46:42And what was her relationship to Darwin and Darwin's theories?
0:46:42 > 0:46:44He'd known her since she was a child,
0:46:44 > 0:46:46because he was a friend of her father's.
0:46:46 > 0:46:50So we know that he very much appreciated her artwork
0:46:50 > 0:46:56and I think that was because they did bring to life his theories
0:46:56 > 0:47:00and made them more understandable for the average person.
0:47:01 > 0:47:06Marianne read Darwin's Origin Of Species, published in 1859.
0:47:06 > 0:47:11From then on, she eagerly embraces his theory of evolution.
0:47:11 > 0:47:15"He was, in my eyes, the greatest man living.
0:47:15 > 0:47:21"The most truthful, as well as the most selfless and modest.
0:47:21 > 0:47:25"Always trying to give others, rather than himself,
0:47:25 > 0:47:29"the credit of his own great thoughts and work."
0:47:31 > 0:47:35In 1880, Darwin bestowed her with the highest accolade.
0:47:36 > 0:47:39"I was much flattered at his wishing to see me.
0:47:39 > 0:47:42"And when he said he thought I ought not to attempt
0:47:42 > 0:47:44"any representation of the vegetation of the world
0:47:44 > 0:47:47"until I had seen and painted the Australian,
0:47:47 > 0:47:52"I determined to take it as a royal command and to go at once."
0:47:53 > 0:47:57Marianne spends close to a year travelling across Australia,
0:47:57 > 0:47:59Tasmania and New Zealand.
0:47:59 > 0:48:02She produces over 300 pictures,
0:48:02 > 0:48:05which she proudly shares with Darwin.
0:48:05 > 0:48:09"I am so glad that I have seen your Australian pictures.
0:48:09 > 0:48:14"I am often able to call up with considerable vividness
0:48:14 > 0:48:19"scenes which I have seen, but my mind in this respect
0:48:19 > 0:48:23"must be a mere barren waste compared with your mind.
0:48:23 > 0:48:30"I remain, dear Miss North, yours truly obliged, Charles Darwin."
0:48:30 > 0:48:34What would you say Marianne's place in botanical history is?
0:48:34 > 0:48:37She's left us a really quite important legacy.
0:48:37 > 0:48:40I mean, as well as the plants that she actually discovered,
0:48:40 > 0:48:42she is one of the first people
0:48:42 > 0:48:45who has really taken these images of plants
0:48:45 > 0:48:48in their natural environment and used it to educate and inform
0:48:48 > 0:48:50at a more popular level.
0:48:50 > 0:48:54These are to help the public understand the botanical world.
0:48:58 > 0:49:01I think we find Marianne North's paintings so fascinating
0:49:01 > 0:49:05because we see her abandoning herself to her instincts,
0:49:05 > 0:49:10following these Darwinian theories and mixing those together.
0:49:10 > 0:49:12That's what we admire and can appreciate now,
0:49:12 > 0:49:17rather than seeing just a sort of rule-breaking eccentric.
0:49:20 > 0:49:23Marianne North dedicated her life
0:49:23 > 0:49:27to preserving our most precious asset - nature.
0:49:27 > 0:49:30Yet that dream came at a price.
0:49:30 > 0:49:34The relentless travelling and persistent illnesses she suffered
0:49:34 > 0:49:38claimed her life at the young age of 59.
0:49:39 > 0:49:45And it's here at Kew, the place she loved and respected most,
0:49:45 > 0:49:47where her greatest legacy lives -
0:49:47 > 0:49:50the Marianne North Gallery.
0:49:53 > 0:49:57Sir Joseph Hooker accepted her proposal and this humble building,
0:49:57 > 0:50:02built at her own expense, opened in 1882.
0:50:02 > 0:50:06It houses the longest permanent solo exhibition
0:50:06 > 0:50:09by a female artist in the world.
0:50:12 > 0:50:14SHE GASPS
0:50:19 > 0:50:21This is spectacular!
0:50:31 > 0:50:34This is the most beautiful...
0:50:35 > 0:50:37I mean, it's phenomenal.
0:50:46 > 0:50:48And in a time before colour photography,
0:50:48 > 0:50:53you can see how important these pictures are.
0:50:53 > 0:50:58To record these environments, these plants, the animals...
0:51:01 > 0:51:02There's the pitcher plant...
0:51:04 > 0:51:08Pitcher PLANTS that I saw in Borneo.
0:51:10 > 0:51:12I mean, there's such a vivid documentation.
0:51:12 > 0:51:17It shows you how important it was that she learnt to paint with oil
0:51:17 > 0:51:20because that has perfectly preserved the colours.
0:51:23 > 0:51:26Mangosteen.
0:51:26 > 0:51:27Staghorn fern.
0:51:27 > 0:51:32It's so exciting seeing them here, having actually been to Borneo!
0:51:34 > 0:51:36I can't quite believe it.
0:51:39 > 0:51:44The Marianne North Gallery functions much like a moving image, almost,
0:51:44 > 0:51:46as one travels through
0:51:46 > 0:51:50and I think she was very aware of the visitor moving their own body
0:51:50 > 0:51:53through her gallery and thereby travelling the world,
0:51:53 > 0:51:56taking in one place at a time
0:51:56 > 0:52:01and really being able to visit all of those places that she recorded.
0:52:01 > 0:52:04This is an art gallery like no other.
0:52:04 > 0:52:09All 832 of Marianne's paintings fill each and every wall,
0:52:09 > 0:52:11floor to ceiling,
0:52:11 > 0:52:14a permanent record of the five continents
0:52:14 > 0:52:17and the 17 countries she travelled to.
0:52:19 > 0:52:23'Someone who knows these snapshots of the world inside out
0:52:23 > 0:52:26'is former gallery curator Laura Giuffrida.'
0:52:26 > 0:52:27Lovely to meet you.
0:52:27 > 0:52:30So this is Jamaica.
0:52:30 > 0:52:33This is where she started her travels to the tropics.
0:52:33 > 0:52:36So she spent five months here
0:52:36 > 0:52:39and of course, you can imagine the longing to see the tropics.
0:52:39 > 0:52:42- Yes.- She stepped off the boat and then was literally in ecstasy.
0:52:43 > 0:52:46'Marianne's passion for adventure never faded.
0:52:46 > 0:52:51'From Jamaica to Japan, South Africa to the Seychelles,
0:52:51 > 0:52:54'she captured the world's plants.'
0:52:54 > 0:52:58Across to Chile, and this is where Marianne made her last voyage.
0:52:58 > 0:53:00She was very tired at this stage.
0:53:00 > 0:53:02- I'm not surprised! - But she was determined,
0:53:02 > 0:53:06determined to find and paint the blue puya.
0:53:06 > 0:53:08She rode up the mountain,
0:53:08 > 0:53:10she got off on foot
0:53:10 > 0:53:13and there they were - a revealed stand of the blue puyas.
0:53:15 > 0:53:16Breathtaking!
0:53:18 > 0:53:21It was an idea of presenting nature, free to the public to come and view.
0:53:21 > 0:53:24Nobody really accomplished that
0:53:24 > 0:53:27and so she does something quite extraordinary
0:53:27 > 0:53:31in that she presents what the men couldn't.
0:53:31 > 0:53:33It really is the world in one room, isn't it?
0:53:33 > 0:53:36- It is, exactly!- She's captured it.
0:53:36 > 0:53:39And that's quite a legacy, isn't it, for her?
0:53:39 > 0:53:41It really, really is a legacy.
0:53:41 > 0:53:43This is all about her passion, her intensity,
0:53:43 > 0:53:46- all captured here within this gallery.- Yes.
0:53:48 > 0:53:50I think Marianne North was ahead of her time
0:53:50 > 0:53:52in relation to how she was able to present that gallery.
0:53:52 > 0:53:56If you would look at the way that museums operate today,
0:53:56 > 0:54:00they're bringing in that kind of spectacle.
0:54:00 > 0:54:04What a vision! In fact, I've got the original plans.
0:54:06 > 0:54:09- So, can I show you?- Yes, please!
0:54:09 > 0:54:11- So, we open very carefully...- Wow!
0:54:11 > 0:54:12- You hold on to that end.- I will.
0:54:14 > 0:54:18Isn't it amazing to think that she was holding this piece of paper?
0:54:18 > 0:54:20Absolutely. I think of her there with her ruler
0:54:20 > 0:54:23and her little pencil in the gaslight or whatever
0:54:23 > 0:54:25of Victoria Street.
0:54:25 > 0:54:27They're all numbered.
0:54:27 > 0:54:29So this is her plan, in fact, for this wall.
0:54:31 > 0:54:35The absolute lack of any space in between the paintings
0:54:35 > 0:54:38echoes the way in which there was almost no space
0:54:38 > 0:54:41other than the paintings in her life.
0:54:41 > 0:54:44I mean, it's so careful, isn't it?
0:54:44 > 0:54:46It's like a jigsaw puzzle.
0:54:46 > 0:54:49In some cases, she did have to add little extensions on.
0:54:49 > 0:54:51- Oh, did she? - If you look very carefully,
0:54:51 > 0:54:56- you can actually see where she's added pieces to the frame.- Yes.
0:54:56 > 0:54:58I mean, it feels like she was quite obsessive
0:54:58 > 0:55:01in almost everything that she did, really.
0:55:01 > 0:55:03Yes, I think so. I think she had to visit, you know,
0:55:03 > 0:55:07her 17 countries to capture the plants that she wanted to paint
0:55:07 > 0:55:10and I think this gallery, condensing them all here,
0:55:10 > 0:55:11is a reflection of that.
0:55:11 > 0:55:14I feel that Marianne's paintings
0:55:14 > 0:55:18were definitely a sort of mechanism for survival.
0:55:20 > 0:55:25That's the one overriding feeling you get when you go to the gallery
0:55:25 > 0:55:29is that it is the product of an obsessive mind,
0:55:29 > 0:55:33those sort of 800-odd paintings crammed into this space
0:55:33 > 0:55:40give you a real sense of how hard she worked during that time.
0:55:41 > 0:55:45Despite exhaustion, Marianne is bent on doing things her own way.
0:55:45 > 0:55:47Part of her vision for the gallery
0:55:47 > 0:55:50is to offer tea and coffee to the public.
0:55:50 > 0:55:53But Kew refuses.
0:55:53 > 0:55:57Now, anybody other than Marianne would just take that and accept it.
0:55:57 > 0:55:59But not Marianne North.
0:56:01 > 0:56:03She took her case to the House of Commons
0:56:03 > 0:56:05and they, too, turned it down.
0:56:05 > 0:56:09Here she was, battling against government,
0:56:09 > 0:56:11battling against Parliament,
0:56:11 > 0:56:14against a male-dominated world
0:56:14 > 0:56:16and she's determined to get her own way.
0:56:16 > 0:56:19So she decided - very cunningly, I think -
0:56:19 > 0:56:26to paint the plant of the tea and coffee in the gallery.
0:56:26 > 0:56:28So, over one doorway, we have tea
0:56:28 > 0:56:30and over the other, coffee.
0:56:31 > 0:56:35It shows she had not only a determination, steely determination,
0:56:35 > 0:56:39but she also had a sense of humour, and that's what I like about them.
0:56:40 > 0:56:43I wish there were more Mariannes in the world.
0:56:44 > 0:56:48Seeing the paintings and feeling the atmosphere in here,
0:56:48 > 0:56:54it's much more about her love of nature and the wonder of nature.
0:56:54 > 0:56:57I think that she just wanted other people to know
0:56:57 > 0:57:01and to celebrate nature in the way that she felt it.
0:57:01 > 0:57:02I believe you're right.
0:57:02 > 0:57:04I don't think there was any pretension.
0:57:04 > 0:57:06See just had the passion to see plants
0:57:06 > 0:57:09and to capture them, to paint them.
0:57:12 > 0:57:16- Makes me want to cry! - She was amazing. She was amazing.
0:57:16 > 0:57:19- She was an incredible woman. - She was amazing.
0:57:22 > 0:57:26I think Marianne North was happy to break artistic rules,
0:57:26 > 0:57:27was happy to break scientific rules,
0:57:27 > 0:57:31in order to produce a vision that was very much her own
0:57:31 > 0:57:35and that is what was so unique about her as a woman in the 19th century
0:57:35 > 0:57:37and what makes her very inspiring today.
0:57:39 > 0:57:44"Begin now by observing as much as you can of what nature teaches
0:57:44 > 0:57:47"and you will find a new happiness in life."
0:57:51 > 0:57:54I'm actually a bit sad that my journey with Marianne
0:57:54 > 0:57:56is coming to an end.
0:57:56 > 0:58:00But I feel so privileged to have been invited into her family,
0:58:00 > 0:58:03to have read her personal writings and memoirs,
0:58:03 > 0:58:07and to have travelled in her footsteps in breathtaking Borneo.
0:58:11 > 0:58:13And now, I can embrace all of that
0:58:13 > 0:58:17seeing these life-affirming paintings.
0:58:17 > 0:58:21I have wandered through her world and wondered at her world.
0:58:21 > 0:58:24I only wish I could have met her.