author
Edna Brush Perkins
1880–1930
A fearless travel writer, artist, and suffrage activist, she is best remembered for turning her journeys into vivid books about the Mojave and the Sahara. Her life joined adventure, social reform, and a sharp eye for the landscapes she crossed.
1 Audiobook
The White Heart of Mojave: An Adventure with the Outdoors of the Desert
by Edna Brush Perkins
About the author
Born in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1880, Edna Brush Perkins grew up in a prominent family and became known as a writer, painter, pianist, and social reformer. She was deeply involved in the women's suffrage movement in Ohio and helped organize and lead campaigns for voting rights in the years before the 19th Amendment.
She is especially remembered as a travel writer. After visiting Death Valley and the Mojave Desert, she wrote The White Heart of the Mojave (1922), a lively account of desert travel that helped introduce many readers to that landscape. She later published A Red Carpet on the Sahara (1925), drawing on her travels in North Africa.
Perkins died in 1930, but her work still stands out for its mix of courage, curiosity, and strong sense of place. For readers who enjoy early travel writing, her books offer both adventure and a glimpse of a woman who insisted on making her own way in the world.