An absorbing account of the eventful life of a key figure in the archaeology of Rapa Nui. Van Tilburg brings to the story her own field experience on Easter Island, along with a wealth of information from recently discovered family papers. Katherine and her husband William Scoresby led the Mana Expedition to Easter Island from 1913 to 1915, where Katherine conducted the first-ever excavations of the island's now-famous stone statues, (all told in Routledge's original account, The Mystery of Easter Island (EIL10). Not just a collecting expedition, Katherine interviewed islanders about a way of life fast disappearing, got caught up in a rebellion and, eventually, became entangled with a local Shaman. At age 69, Routledge -- who fought a lifelong battle with schizophrenia by turning to spirituality and mysticism -- died tragically in an asylum in Britain.  (EIL16, $27.00)