Woman, Watching: Louise de Kiriline Lawrence and the Songbirds of Pimisi Bay

Written by Merilyn Simonds

Narrated by Elizabeth Wiley

From award-winning author Merilyn Simonds, a remarkable biography of an extraordinary woman—a Swedish aristocrat who survived the Russian Revolution to become an internationally renowned naturalist, one of the first to track the mid-century decline of songbirds.



Referred to as a Canadian Rachel Carson, Louise de Kiriline Lawrence lived and worked in an isolated log cabin near North Bay. After her husband was murdered by Bolsheviks, she refused her Swedish privilege and joined the Canadian Red Cross, visiting her northern Ontario patients by dogsled. When Elzire Dionne gave birth to five babies, Louise became nurse to the Dionne Quintuplets. Repulsed by the media circus, she retreated to her wilderness cabin, where she devoted herself to studying the birds that nested in her forest. Author of six books and scores of magazine stories, de Kiriline Lawrence and her "loghouse nest" became a Mecca for international ornithologists.



Lawrence was an old woman when Merilyn Simonds moved into the woods not far away. Their paths crossed, sparking Simonds's lifelong interest. A dedicated birder, Simonds brings her own songbird experiences from Canadian nesting grounds and Mexican wintering grounds to this deeply researched, engaging portrait of a uniquely fascinating woman.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Tantor Media, Inc
• Release date: May 24, 2022
• ISBN: 9798765004760

[gypsysmom_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I listened to this delightful book which was well narrated by Elizabeth Wiley. It's a biography of an amazing woman who had a very interesting life. I had never heard of Louise de Kiriline Lawrence before running across this book. Kudos to Merilyn Simonds for bringing her life to the attention of modern audiences.

Louise was born to a life of wealth in Sweden at the end of the 19th century. Her godmother was Princess Louise of Denmark after whom she was named. During World War I she trained as a nurse and served in a prisoner of war camp where she met a Russian officer, Lieutenant Gleb Nikoleyevich Kirilin. They married in 1918 in Sweden but Gleb returned to Russia to fight in the Russian Revolution on the side of the Tsar. Louise joined him in Russia despite the dangers. Shortly after they reunited they were captured by the Red Army and separated. Louise was able to visit Gleb in prison in Moscow but in June 2019 he was moved and she never heard from him again; he was probably executed in Siberia. After a few years in Russia hoping for news of Gleb, Louise decided to move to Canada based on stories told to her by Canadians during the war. She worked for the Red Cross in northern Ontario, near North Bay. In her capacity as a trained nurse she became one of the people who cared for the Dionne quintuplets in their first year. She wrote a book about that experience and decided she wanted to support herself as a writer. She bought a small piece of land and had a local carpenter build her a small cabin. That carpenter, Leonard Lawrence, became her second husband. As a child she had been exposed to nature and birding by her father, so, she took up observing the birds in her piece of woods. She corresponded extensively with other naturalists and ornithologists and was encouraged by them to write about her observations. Over the years she wrote twenty scientific papers, many articles for publications like Audubon, and a number of books based on her nature observations. She continued to live in her small cabin until her husband needed special care and they moved to North Bay. She died at the age of 98 in 1992.

The author met de Kiriline Lawrence during her lifetime. In fact, it sounds like they were quite friendly. Simonds tells how she picked up Louise in North Bay and drove her to the cabin where they had a Scandinavian picnic and talked for hours. However, it was only after her death when Simonds was able to access Louise's letters and notebooks that she could write this detailed account of her life. She often quotes from letters that Louise sent to friends, family, publishers and other ornithologists so it seems like we are hearing Louise, not the biographer. Very well done!

[eduscapes · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Excerpt from a longer article:

Timely Take-aways for Life-Long Learning: Birds and Birders

Several new and upcoming books explore the world of birds and birders. From naturalists and scientists to backyard birders, these books explore the wide range of ways people connect with birds.

...

Woman, Watching: Louise de Kiriline Lawrence and the Songbirds of Pimisi Bay
Merilyn Simonds, 2022, ECW Press, an imprint of Baker & Taylor Publisher Services
Themes: Biography, Naturalist, Birds

While living in an isolated cabin in Ontario, Canada, Louise de Kiriline Lawrence worked as a nurse then devoted her life to studying birds. The author connects the life story of this pioneer of ornithology with her own passion for songbirds.

Take-aways: Use Lawrence and Simonds as examples of how naturalists yesterday and today contribute to our understanding of birds through their observations and citizen science.

...

Whether helping educators keep up-to-date in their subject-areas, promoting student reading in the content-areas, or simply encouraging nonfiction leisure reading, teacher librarians need to be aware of the best new titles across the curriculum and how to activate life-long learning. - Annette Lamb

[nancyadair-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Louise de Kiriline Lawrence gave up a life of privilege in Sweden in exchange for a life of adventure. She became a Red Cross Nurse during WWI. She married a prisoner of war and followed him to Russia, fending for herself when he entered the White Russian army and was captured. She immigrated to Canada where she was a nurse responsible in Northern Ontario and became the nurse to the famous Dionne quintuplets. Louise bought a plot of land on Pimisi Bay and built a primitive log cabin. There, she observed birds and wrote books and scholarly papers, living with her younger, second husband Len.

Bird watcher Merilyn Simonds knew Louise and after her death, bought Louise’s log cabin. She read everything by Louise, letters and books. Her deep knowledge and love for her subject shows in this remarkable biography.

As each chapter of Louise’s life came to a close, I thought ‘here’s where I speed read,’ only to discover that the next chapter was just as amazing and interesting.

If you love books about birds and nature, Woman, Watching is for you. If you like to read about strong women who forge their own unique path, this biography is for you. If you are interested in women writers and the challenges they face, you will love Louise. There is tragic romance. The challenge of aging. A brush with fame and resisting commercialization. The power of friendship. And of course, there are the stories of the birds, the insights into their lives based on hours of personal observation.

It’s a marvelous biography.

I received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for a fair and unbiased review.