Alexandra David-Neel, explorerOct. 24, 1868-Sept. 8, 1969
Far Beyond the Gate: Alexandra David-Neel's Journey to Lhasa by Don Brown (Houghton Mifflin, 2002)
David-Neel did not represent the norm. This intrepid Victorian traveler and opera singer gloried in journeying to remote parts of the world. She became and the first Western woman to enter Lhasa, Tibet in 1924.
Alexandra David-Neel's bio on Wikipedia offers additional info.
