Blanch, Lesley

▪ 2008

      British writer and traveler

born June 6, 1904, London, Eng.

died May 7, 2007, Menton, France

delighted readers with many books that, like her life, were full of romance and adventure. Branch's travels took her to Russia, Bulgaria, Afghanistan, Oman, Egypt, India, Mexico, and central Asia, among other places. Her best-known book, however, was The Wilder Shores of Love (1954), in which she recounted the real-life exotic adventures of four 19th-century women: Isabel Burton, Jane Digby, Aimée Dubucq de Rivery, and Isabelle Eberhardt. Branch's other works included Under a Lilac-Bleeding Star (1963), a collection of travel writings, and From Wilder Shores: The Tables of My Travels (1989), a book of recipes. Blanch was features editor (1937–44) of the British edition of Vogue and was married (1945–62) to novelist Romain Gary, who twice won the Prix Goncourt. She was appointed MBE in 2001.

* * *