March 20, 1896

According to her Worldcat blurb:

'Lady Isabel Burton ...[March 20, 1831 to March 22,  1896] was a distinguished nineteenth-century traveller, writer and critic. She and her husband Richard explored the Middle East, India, Africa and South America extensively during his diplomatic placements and for their own pleasure. ...'

Her husband of course was Sir Richard Burton, described in the same source as:

'.....the famous Victorian explorer, [who] began his career in the Indian army in 1842. While in India he developed his linguistic talent, mastering more than forty different languages and dialects. He turned to writing books in the 1850s and, over the remaining forty years of his life, published dozens of works and more than one hundred articles. [For example in one]... book, first published in 1856, Burton recounts his travels to Harar, a city in East Africa notorious for its slave trade activity. His plan was a challenging one, as it was believed that no European had been there before; upon arrival he claimed to be an agent of the British government and presented himself to the ruler of Harar. Burton was allowed to spend ten days there, and his account give a fascinating glimpse into a then unknown city and culture.'

Her ODNB biography says:

'Isabel Burton was noted for her concern for animals, of which she usually kept many. Her menagerie at Damascus was so varied that only with difficulty did she keep its members from devouring each other. At Trieste one of her chief interests was a local society for the prevention of cruelty to animals. Any coachman who flicked his horses with a whip was likely to receive a jab from her umbrella.'

Her husband's translation of The Arabian Nights is famous and Isabel also produced an expurgated version of her husband's book.(Lady Burton's Edition of Her Husband's Arabian Nights: Translated Literally from the Arabic, Volume 2, 1886) Here is a story, titled "The Cat and the Crow," from Isabel's version, which may, we must add, have received her husband's help:

'Once upon a time, a crow and a cat lived in brotherhood; and one day as they were together under a tree, behold, they spied a leopard making towards them, and they were not aware of his approach till he was close upon them. The crow at once flew up to the tree-top;
but the cat abode confounded and said to the crow, "O my friend, hast thou no device to save me, even as all my hope is in thee?" Replied the crow, "Of very truth it behoveth brethren in case of need, to cast about for a device when peril overtaketh them.." Now hard by that tree were shepherds with their dogs; so the crow flew towards them and smote the face of the earth with his wings, cawing and crying out. Furthermore he went up to one of the dogs and flapped his wings in his face and flew up a little way, whilst the dog ran after him thinking to catch him. Presently, one of the shepherds raised his head and saw the bird flying near the ground and lighting alternately; so he followed him, and the crow ceased not flying just high enough to save himself and to throw out the dogs; and yet tempting them to follow for the purpose of tearing him to pieces. But as soon as they came near him, he would fly up a little; and so at last he brought them to the tree, under which was the leopard. And when the dogs saw him they rushed upon him and he [the leopard] turned and fled. ....'

Lady Isabel Burton, and Sir Richard Burton had a rare and heart-warming domestic union.