Guiding Lights

Women have a long history of keeping the lights burning, from tending ancient altar flames to manning modern day lighthouses. Yet most of their stories are little-known. Guiding Lights is a collection of true stories spanning decades and continents, chronicling the lives of the extraordinary women who mind the world’s lighthouses.

From Hannah Sutton and her partner Grant, the two caretakers living alone on Tasmania’s wild Maatsuyker Island, to Karen Zacharuk, the keeper in charge of Cape Beale, Vancouver Island, where bears, cougars and wolves roam, the lives of lighthouse women are not for the faint of heart. Paired with stunning photographs, discover the tales of:

The dramatic torching of Puysegur Point, one of NZ’s most inhospitable lighthouses.
‘Haunted’ lighthouses in across the US and their tragic tales.
Lighthouse accidents and emergencies around the world.
Two of the world’s most legendary lighthouse women, Ida Lewis (US) and Grace Darling (UK), who risked their lives to save others.

The book also explores our dual perception of lighthouses: are they comforting and romantic beacons symbolising hope and trust, or storm-lashed and forbidding towers with echoes of lonely, mad keepers? Whatever our perception, stories of women’s courage and dedication in minding the lights – then and now – continue to capture our imagination and inspire.

Author Biography

Shona Riddell has a long-held fascination with lighthouses. A writer for 20 years (including her subantarctic history book Trial of Strength with Exisle), Shona lives with her husband and two daughters in Wellington, New Zealand. She enjoys cold, windy weather and stories about remote locations.