Hilary Bradt

“In 1964, I went to see a production of Ibsen’s The Master Builder, but I’d muddled the dates and instead saw a new play called The Royal Hunt of

the Sun, about the conquest of the Incas. I knew nothing about Peru but wanted to learn more. I found out that there were still Inca ruins there, so I took a job to earn money for a South America trip. Five years later, I stood gazing down on Machu Picchu; another five years on and I returned with my husband to write a backpacking guide to Peru that started Bradt Travel Guides.”