Jane Wilson-Howarth facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Jane Wilson-Howarth
Jane Wilson-Howarth exploring wildlife in Madagascar
Born	Jane Margaret Wilson 1961 Epsom, England, United Kingdom
Occupation	author, lecturer, physician
Genre	narrative nonfiction, travel health, children's fiction
Subject	Nepal, Madagascar
Spouse	Simon Howarth (married 1987)
Children	Alexander David Sebastian

Jane Wilson-Howarth is an English author, medical doctor, and cave explorer. She writes useful books about staying healthy on big adventures. She also creates exciting wildlife stories for young readers. Along with her books, she writes helpful guides about nature and world travel.

Early Life and Growing Up

Jane Wilson was born at Epsom Hospital in Surrey, England. Her mother Peggy came from London. Her father Joe Wilson loved books and was a passionate bibliophile. He came from Ballymena in Northern Ireland. Jane grew up in Stoneleigh, near Ewell Village. She loved the outdoors and studying unusual creatures.

She went to local schools and attended Cheam High School. Jane found learning hard at times because of dyslexia. She left high school at age sixteen. She then studied science at the North East Surrey College of Technology. In early 2025, the college named her an honorary Fellow.

University Studies and Cave Discoveries

She went to Plymouth to study nature at the Plymouth Polytechnic. There, she focused on ecology and creepy-crawly invertebrates. She was very interested in creatures living without sunshine. She visited Radford Cave many times to inspect subterranean life. She checked how cave weather changed the populations of tiny springtails.

In 1976, she earned a prize from the Winston Churchill Memorial Trust. This grant helped pay for a scientific trip to Nepal. She fell in love with the high mountains there. Next, she researched animal parasites at Corpus Christi College, Oxford. This work helped her earn a Master of Science degree.

Learning about animal germs made her want to study the body's immune system. She wanted to help sick children in poor countries. Because of this dream, she went to medical school. She studied human medicine at the University of Southampton to become a qualified physician.

She earned medical diplomas from the Royal College of Physicians in London. She earned another child health diploma in Edinburgh. In 2009, she became a fellow of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow. By 2017, she joined the British Global and Travel Health Association.

Dr Jane speaking at the Royal College of Physicians & Surgeons

Working as a Doctor Around the World

After medical school, Wilson-Howarth worked in bone health at a hospital in Salisbury. She cared for chest conditions and women's health in Swindon. Next, she practiced children's medicine at the famous John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford. She was determined to make children healthier worldwide.

She worked on clean water and wellness projects across the globe. These countries included Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Pakistan, and India. She spent fifteen years as a National Health Service general practitioner in Cambridgeshire. During that time, she taught young doctors at the University of Cambridge.

She also volunteered to help families in crisis. In 2016, she helped refugees in Greece with the group Médecins du Monde. She aided projects with Voluntary Service Overseas in Nepal and Nigeria. She spent years guiding health workers across remote Himalayan villages. She shared advice during sickness outbreaks in Nepal through online news.

Outdoor Expeditions and Wild Discoveries

Wilson-Howarth is a bold explorer who loves water and darkness. In college, she took up deep scuba diving and underground caving. She became one of the first women to explore deep waters inside Pridhamsleigh Cavern. In 1973, she won national college championships in fast canoe slalom racing. She also won an exciting seven-mile whitewater canoeing race.

Later, she led an overland drive toward the massive peaks of Nepal. Her crew looked for unknown subterranean caverns. They caught small cave critters for the Natural History Museum in London. She carefully tracked diseases carried by wild animals like histoplasmosis and rabies.

While attending Oxford, she took up team rowing. She raced for Corpus Christi College, Oxford in an eight-person boat. Her college team had great success during Eights Week in a bumps race. Later in life, she rowed races on the River Cam and at Eton Dorney.

She led exciting biological expeditions to Madagascar and the high mountains of Peru. In 1983, the Scientific Exploration Society presented her with the Bish Medal. She helped run child health programs with Save the Children in Ladakh. Her Madagascar trips helped save the amazing Ankarana Reserve. There, scientists protected rare animals like the crowned lemur and Sanford's brown lemur. She even helped discover a unique blind cave fish.

Writing Books and Sharing Adventures

Wilson-Howarth loves turning real outdoor trips into popular books. Her first major book was called Lemurs of the Lost World. Renowned explorer Dervla Murphy praised it as a wonderful travel tale. Jane later created famous family health manuals, including Staying Healthy When You Travel.

She worked with children's doctors to write helpful travel guides. She wrote the moving book A Glimpse of Eternal Snows about family life in Nepal. This book won big praise from BBC reading programs. Later, she wrote an adventure novel named Snowfed Waters. In September 2026, she published another personal memoir about her exciting journeys.

Jane Wilson-Howarth has written many books about health and nature.

She has written over two hundred travel features for Wanderlust. She has written great nature articles for magazines like BBC Wildlife. Famous travel writer Simon Calder called her a top authority on globe-trotting health. She belongs to the Society of Authors and writes with friends in Saffron Walden.

Jane often shares exciting stories on popular radio and television programs. She has appeared on news shows like BBC Breakfast and ITV Tyne Tees. She has also appeared on the consumer show Rip Off Britain. Radio listeners can hear her on programs like Excess Baggage and The Living World. Today, she continues to travel between England and the vibrant city of Kathmandu.

Bibliography

Narrative nonfiction

• Wilson, Jane (2014). Lemurs of the Lost World: exploring the forests and Crocodile Caves of Madagascar. Impact, London. pp. 216. ISBN 978-1-874687-48-1.
• Wilson-Howarth, Jane (2007). A Glimpse of Eternal Snows: a family's journey of love and loss in Nepal. Peir 9, NSW Australia. pp. 432. ISBN 978-1-921-259265.
• Wilson-Howarth, Jane (2012). A Glimpse of Eternal Snows: a journey of love and loss in the Himalayas. Bradt Travel Guides, UK. pp. 390. ISBN 978-1-84162-435-8.
• Wilson-Howarth, Jane (2015). A Glimpse of Eternal Snows: a journey of love and loss in the Himalayas. Speaking Tiger, New Delhi. pp. 380. ISBN 978-81-930710-7-6.
• Green, Stephanie; Françoise Hivernel; Sally Haiselden; Seeta Siriwardena; Jane Wilson-Howarth (2018). 50 Camels and She's Yours: tales from five women across five continents. Cambridge. pp. 305. ISBN 9781788764285.
• Wilson-Howarth, Jane (2026). Under a Himalayan Sky: love loss and learning to live. Eye / Lightning, UK. pp. 320. ISBN 978-1785634734.

Travel health guides

• Wilson-Howarth, Jane (1995, 1999, 2002, 2006). Bugs Bites & Bowels republished as The Essential Guide to Travel Health (see below)
• Wilson-Howarth, Jane; Matthew Ellis (1998). Your Child's Health Abroad: a manual for travelling families. Bradt / Globe Pequot. pp. 198. ISBN 1-898323-63-1.
• Wilson-Howarth, Jane (2009). The Essential Guide to Travel Health: don't let Bugs Bites & Bowels Spoil Your Trip. Cadogan, London. pp. 312. ISBN 978-1-86011-424-3.
• Wilson-Howarth, Jane; Matthew Ellis (2015). Your Child Abroad: a travel health guide. Bradt. pp. 212. ISBN 978-1-84162-120-3.
• Wilson-Howarth, Jane (2023). Staying Healthy When You Travel: how to avoid bugs bites belly-aches and more. Fox Chapel, Pennsylvania. pp. 320. ISBN 978-1620083789.

Novels

• Wilson-Howarth, Jane (2014). Snowfed Waters: a novel. FeedARead.com. pp. 316. ISBN 978-1-78407-322-0.
• Wilson-Howarth, Jane (2016). Himalayan Kidnap: the first Alex and James eco-adventure set in Nepal. Eifrig Publishing, Lemont PA. pp. 176. ISBN 9781632331007.
• Wilson-Howarth, Jane (2017). Snowfed Waters: a novel. Speaking Tiger. pp. 287. ISBN 9789386338211.
• Wilson-Howarth, Jane (2018). Himalayan Kidnap: the first Alex and James eco-adventure set in Nepal. Eifrig Publishing, Lemont PA. pp. 234. ISBN 9781632331274.
• Wilson-Howarth, Jane (2018). Chasing the Tiger: the second Alex and James eco-adventure set in Nepal. Eifrig Publishing, Lemont PA. pp. 216. ISBN 9781632331038.
• Wilson-Howarth, Jane (2018). Himalayan Hostages: the first Alex and James wildlife adventure set in Nepal. Vajra Books, Kathmandu, Nepal. pp. 215. ISBN 9789937924597.
• Wilson-Howarth, Jane (2018). Himalayan Hideout: the second Alex and James wildlife adventure set in Nepal. Vajra Books, Kathmandu, Nepal. pp. 210. ISBN 9789937924573.
• Wilson-Howarth, Jane (2021). Himalayan Heist: an Alex and James wildlife adventure set in Nepal. Vajra Books, Kathmandu, Nepal. pp. 274. ISBN 9789937624114.
• Wilson-Howarth, Jane (2023). Madagascar Misadventure: an Alex and James wildlife tale. Audible. pp. 263. ASIN B0CQD9HLBT. ISBN 978-1-806545-07-0.