Born in Paris in 1868, Louise Eugénie Alexandrine Marie David was the only daughter of a devout Catholic mother of Scandinavian origin and a left-leaning French father of Huguenot descent, a distant relative of Jacques-Louis David, Napoleon's favorite painter.
Alexandra's personality traits were in evidence as a child, when she ran away from home several times to satisfy her desire for freedom and the need to escape to new places, which she felt to the end of her life. Proud and fiercely individualistic, Alexandra left her family permanently when she came of age in 1889 and settled in Paris, where she attended classes in oriental languages at the Sorbonne and the Collège de France. She loved exploring the city of her birth, and was particularly impressed with the Asian collection of the Guimet museum, where she tells us she "spent long hours in the library, listening to the silent calls of the pages....Vocations are born, and mine was born there," she said.
Alexandra also studied music and voice and became an opera singer, achieving considerable success in certain roles, particularly Marguerite in Gounod's Faust. She was complimented by Massenet for her performance as Manon, and was also acclaimed as Bizet's Carmen. But Alexandra did not particularly enjoy this career, pining for deserts and faraway lands. After completing her contract at the opera house in Athens, she abandoned opera to write and deepen her knowledge of Eastern cultures and religions.
In 1890-1891, thanks to an inheritance from her godmother, Alexandra was able to spend over a year in India. She explored every region of this vast country and was fascinated by its infinite variety and contradictions, awed by the snows of the Himalayas, and spellbound by the "captivating Tibetan music," which she heard for the first time.
In 1904, when she was 36 years old, Alexandra traveled to North Africa, where she said she wanted to hear "the muezzin call the faithful to prayer from atop a minaret, especially at sunset." In Tunis, she met an attractive railway engineer, Philippe Néel, who courted her successfully and managed to convince her to become his wife. But after only a few months, Alexandra was on the brink of a depression - being a housewife was certainly not her style!
In 1911, Philippe agreed to finance Alexandra's return to India, and she left with the promise to return within eighteen months. But it would be fourteen years later, in May 1925, when the couple briefly reunited. Alexandra and Philippe separated, but they remained bound not just by a marriage contract but by a deep and unshakable friendship. Philippe continued to support Alexandra's travels and even acted as her literary agent. When she learned of his death in 1941, Alexandra said, "I have lost the best of husbands and my only friend."
While in India, Alexandra had a passionate love affair with Sidkeong Tulku, the young, handsome reforming Maharaja of Sikkim, which was cut short when he died of poisoning in 1914.
For solace and enlightenment, Alexandra sought out the Gomchen of Lachen, the Hermetic master of a small monastery in a mountain village near the Tibetan border. She became the Gomchen's disciple and for two years studied tantric Buddhism with him through conversation, the reading of sacred texts, and the practice of telepathy. The techniques the Gomchen taught her -- such as tumo breathing, enabling the body to stay warm by meditating on the fire within -- helped Alexandra to survive the grueling journey via unexplored country to Tibet's capital, Lhasa.
Alexandra began her epic journey to Lhasa when she was 55 years old. Venturing into some of the most difficult terrains on earth, she tried at first to live as well as possible. She took a hot bath every day (coolies transported a bathtub), rode good horses or was carried by sturdy bearers, and ate the best gourmet meals her servants could muster (she never cooked herself). But she was resolute about reaching her destination, and when it could not be done comfortably, she walked, disguised herself as a beggar, and lived in a drafty tent at 50 degrees below zero. Surviving on boiled water and such delicacies as maggot-infested stews and the soles of her boots, she became seriously ill, and was nursed back to health by her 15 year-old companion, Lama Yongden, who would later become her adoptive son. Alexandra finally reached the holy city in 1924, the first foreign woman ever to do so.
Victorious, Alexandra returned to France where she settled with Yongden in the village of Digne at the foot of the Basses-Alpes, which she called "Himalayas for pygmies." She published several books and, in the company of Yongden, undertook lecture tours throughout Europe.
In 1937, when Alexandra was 69 years old, she set off with Yongden on another voyage. After visiting a number of European capitals, they reached Moscow, where they
boarded the Trans-Siberian Railroad for the long trip to China. They arrived during the violent bombardments of the war between China and Japan. A spectacle of horror unfolded before their eyes, and they experienced terrible difficulties: no money from Europe, harsh cold, and the ravages of famine and epidemics all around.
Fleeing the atrocities in a cart or on foot, Alexandra and Yongden reached India in 1946. Nearly ten years had gone by since they set off. Alexandra was 78 when she returned to France and settled once again in Digne. She resumed writing, published many books, and gave lectures throughout Europe.
In 1955, Yongden died. He had been Alexandra's faithful and inseparable companion for 40 years, and his loss left Alexandra bereft, but she soon resumed working and making plans for new adventures. When she was over 100 years old, she planned a trip across Russia that would end at New York and went to have her passport renewed. But it was not to be. She died on September 8, 1969, just shy of her 101st birthday.
Alexandra's 25 books range from popular best sellers such as ''Magic and Mystery in Tibet'' and ''My Journey to Lhasa'' to esoteric writings such as ''The Secret Oral Teachings in Tibetan Buddhist Sects.'' They offer both a window to bygone times and cultures and a testimonial to a remarkable woman who defied all rules and conventions to follow her dreams.
Spirited, attractive, and only five feet tall, Alexandra retained the ability to captivate into her old age. Although worn down by the hardship of her travels, Alexandra kept the radiant air that had drawn countless admirers throughout her long life. She was fearless and would let nothing stand in her way. The account of her travels has the power to awe and inspire us to reach for the stars.
York City by Great Aunt Fannie's Attic exclusively for us, is a one-of-a-kind, stunning piece of work in Dupioni silk with appliqué bees in Swarovsky crystals. A bit sad to say goodbye to this favorite item, I was also delighted that "Josephine" found the perfect home with Elaine and will be going with her to many elegant events. 
ty and public relations. She has an active social life and loves to travel. Her next trip will take her to Vietnam and Cambodia, and we hope she will bring back some dazzling silks for Swan Ways' spring and summer collection. Elaine lives in Burtonsville, Maryland, with her four-legged daughters, Katya and Natasha. 
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