bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Arabia, Egypt, India
Authors: Burton Isabel
Published: May 2013

Lady Isabel Burton (1831–96) 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. Individually and collaboratively they produced several exquisitely detailed travelogues, recording custom, culture, politics and geography. This account of their travels, first published in 1879, details the Burtons' leisurely route to India through Europe before crossing the Mediterranean and continuing south through Egypt and the Arabian Peninsula. This skilful and humorous narrative brings the places and people to life through personal anecdotes, observations and colourful description. Burton's political and historical comments on the lands she travels through are reasoned, well-researched and afford valuable insight into public opinion and world affairs at this time.
Rough Notes of the Campaign in Sinde and Affghanistan, in 1838–9
Authors: Outram James
Published: May 2013

These extracts from the personal journal of Sir James Outram (1803–63), which he kept while serving with the 23rd Regiment in the British Army of the Indus, describe the British campaigns in Sindh and Afghanistan in 1838–9. In the preface to the book, originally published in 1840, the author explains that his 'rough notes' are not attempting a narrative of the military operations but have been printed 'for the perusal of valued friends'. The work begins in Sindh, where the author joins the campaign that aims to restore Shah Shuja to the throne of Kabul, the ultimately disastrous First Anglo-Afghan War. It is dedicated to Sir William Macnaghten, who was later killed during negotiations with an Afghan chief. Outram himself later clashed with the Napier family over Sir William Napier's account of the Conquest of Scinde, and both books are also reissued in this series.
An Historical Disquisition Concerning the Knowledge Which the Ancients Had of India
Authors: Robertson William
Published: May 2013

William Robertson (1721–93), Principal of the University of Edinburgh and historiographer to His Majesty for Scotland, published this work in 1791. Already famous for a History of Scotland, which went into many editions, and a History of America, Robertson aimed to synthesise all earlier western accounts of the subcontinent from classical times to the sixteenth century. Beginning with a consideration of the practical difficulties facing explorers from Europe and Africa who headed east, Robertson discusses the (legendary) Pharaoh Sesostris of Egypt, Alexander the Great, and Roman military incursions into, and trade with, India, before turning to the Portuguese, Spanish, French and English explorers of the early modern period, furnishing his account with copious source notes. A long appendix then describes 'the genius, the manners, and institutions of the people of India, as far as they can be traced from the earliest ages to which our knowledge of them extends'.
Principles and Precedents of Moohummudan Law
Authors: Macnaghten W. H.
Published: May 2013

William Hay Macnaghten (1793–1841), of the Bengal Civil Service, published this work in 1825. It is a compilation of principles and precedents of Islamic law, focusing on family, inheritance and property law, including the status of slaves. Born in India and from a legal family, Macnaghten used his skill in languages as well as his legal training to produce this monumental work, and a similar two-volume treatise on Hindu law (1828–9). Quoting from both Sanskrit and Arabic sources, Part I discusses the principles of family law, inheritance, sales, wills, and slavery, while Part II offers precedents in all these areas, and an appendix gives details of the cases cited. Macnaghten was involved in political as well as legal work, and the disastrous First Anglo-Afghan War was begun largely on his advice. He was killed by an Afghan leader during negotiations outside Kabul in 1841.
A Personal Narrative of a Visit to Ghuzni, Kabul, and Afghanistan, and of a Residence at the Court of Dost Mohamed
Authors: Vigne Godfrey Thomas
Published: May 2013

Published in 1840, this is an important early description of travels in Afghanistan. Leaving behind a career at the Bar and a talent for first-class cricket, Godfrey Thomas Vigne (1801–63) turned to travel and spent seven years (1832–9) in the north-west of the Indian subcontinent. His Personal Narrative is a compelling account of local life, scenery and customs, enhanced by his own accomplished drawings. Perhaps the first Englishman to reach Kabul, he had several interviews with the emir, Dost Mohammad Khan (1793–1863). Vigne's account, with its insights into the resources and influential people in the region, was read keenly by players of the Great Game, as Russia and Britain vied for influence in this remote yet strategically significant area.
Travels and Adventures in the Persian Provinces on the Southern Banks of the Caspian Sea
Authors: Fraser James Baillie
Published: May 2013

Scottish explorer and author James Baillie Fraser (1783–1856) was already known for his narratives of travel in the East (his 1820 journal of a journey through the Himalayas being also reissued in this series) when in 1826 he published this account of his journey into the lesser known provinces of Persia. Though it includes an appendix containing information on geology and commerce, it dwells less on statistical and historical details than it does on the author's personal experiences and impressions. In his preface, Fraser summarily rejects factual material as 'insignificant', preferring to describe the manners of a people seldom encountered by Europeans. The work captures both the sights and sounds of bazaars and cities, and the characters of the people, from princes to peasant boys; and Fraser provides facts on topics ranging from rice cultivation to the architecture of ancient tombs and methods of cooling water.
Military Memoir of Lieut.-Col. James Skinner, C.B.
Authors: Fraser James Baillie
Published: May 2013

Born to a Scottish father and an Indian mother, the military adventurer James Skinner (1778–1841) acquired wealth and fame in India for raising and leading regiments of irregular cavalry, aiding the British in their wars against the Marathas and Pindaris. Distinguished in battle and generous as a host and patron, Skinner was also fluent in Persian and highly regarded by his men and his superiors. Based on first-hand acquaintance and Skinner's own journal, this two-volume work, published in 1851 by the Scottish traveller and artist James Baillie Fraser (1783–1856), who aimed to represent Skinner 'such as he was in truth, a gallant soldier, a zealous officer, a steady friend, a worthy noble-minded man; and spite of his dark complexion, a true and loyal Briton'. Volume 1 sketches the historical background to Skinner's exploits, and includes his account of his activities up to 1804 and the Second Anglo-Maratha War.
Travels in Peru and India
Authors: Markham Clements R.
Published: May 2013

Sir Clements Robert Markham (1830–1916) had a lifelong interest in Peru. Having already travelled there in his early twenties, he was commissioned to return ten years later to supervise the collection of sufficient specimens of the cinchona tree for its introduction to India. The bark of the tree yielded quinine, by then a well-known febrifuge and one of the few effective treatments for malaria. This book, originally published in 1862, is Markham's personal account of his travels. His story moves from the misty heights of the Peruvian mountains, where he suffered from altitude sickness, to the Malabar coastline and its complex, remarkable caste system. Markham also includes a detailed history of the use of cinchona bark, both by Europeans and aboriginal Peruvians, and a discussion of Incan culture since the arrival of the Spanish. His work is still a valuable resource for students of scientific and colonial history.
Michael Psellos
Authors: Papaioannou Stratis
Published: May 2013

This book explores Michael Psellos' place in the history of Greek rhetoric and self-representation and his impact on the development of Byzantine literature. Avoiding the modern dilemma that vacillates between Psellos the pompous rhetorician and Psellos the ingenious thinker, Professor Papaioannou unravels the often misunderstood Byzantine rhetoric, its rich discursive tradition and the social fabric of elite Constantinopolitan culture which rhetoric addressed. The book offers close readings of Psellos' personal letters, speeches, lectures and historiographical narratives, and analysis of other early Byzantine and classical models of authorship in Byzantine book culture, such as Gregory of Nazianzos, Synesios of Cyrene, Hermogenes and Plato. It also details Psellos' innovative attention to authorial creativity, performative mimesis and the aesthetics of the self. Simultaneously, it traces within Byzantium complex expressions of emotion and gender, notions of authorship and subjectivity, and theories of fictionality and literature, challenging the common fallacy that these are modern inventions.
Considerations on the State of British India
Authors: White Adam
Published: May 2013

In this 1822 work, Lieutenant Adam White (1790–1839) of the Bengal Native Infantry reviews the state of India under British rule, presenting arguments for and against colonisation, the activities of missionaries and the freedom of the Press. He also discusses the Indian Army and its recent activities in Nepal and against the Mahrattas, as well as the civil government. He explains in his preface that, having spent twelve years in India, he had no plans to write a book and had not collected any material for it, but a chance reading of Prinsep's account of Warren Hastings' administration changed that. White set out to 'amuse his leisure on board ship' back to Europe by refuting Prinsep's account, and attempting to offer the British public an alternative view of Hastings' rule. White was posted as political agent to Upper Assam, and was later killed in action at Sadiya.
A Handbook of the Cornish Language
Authors: Jenner Henry
Published: May 2013

'Why should Cornishmen learn Cornish?' asked Henry Jenner (1848–1934) in the preface to this 1904 publication, dating from the beginnings of the Cornish revival. Jenner admits that 'the reason ... is sentimental and not in the least practical'. Born in Cornwall, but raised in south-east England, Jenner worked at the British Museum from 1870 to 1909 and was elected a fellow of the Society of Antiquaries. He eventually retired to Cornwall where he became a leading figure in establishing the Old Cornwall Societies and the Gorseth Kernow. The Handbook begins by marshalling the evidence for the use of the Cornish language from the middle ages to the eighteenth century, and listing the manuscripts and books in which it is preserved. It describes the uncertainties surrounding spelling and pronunciation, and the complex system of initial consonant mutations, before explaining the parts of speech. It also includes a fascinating chapter on names.
Die Grundlagen der Griechischen Syntax
Authors: Delbrück Berthold
Published: May 2013

In this fourth part of his general work on syntax, published in 1879, Berthold Delbrück (1842–1922), the German scholar remembered for his contribution to the study of the syntax in Indo-European languages (his three-volume Vergleichende Syntax der indogermanischen Sprachen is also reissued in this series), concentrates on the syntax of ancient Greek. His focus is deliberately broad as he seeks to engage classicists who are interested in linguistics or in how the Greek language was actually used, rather than in highly specialised case studies. In twelve chapters, Delbrück guides the reader through the gender and case of nouns, and explains some features seen as peculiarities of Homeric Greek which in fact demonstrate its kinship as an Indo-European language with the Vedic language of the Hindu scriptures. He also covers the tenses and moods of verbs, prepositions, pronouns and particles, and word order.
Zulu–English Dictionary
Authors: Colenso John William
Published: May 2013

John William Colenso (1814–83) was appointed the first Bishop of Natal in 1853 and settled there in 1855. He devoted great energy to developing the diocese, overseeing the completion of the cathedral in Pietermaritzburg, the building of churches in Durban and Richmond and the establishment of mission stations. He also learned Zulu and set up a printing press. He published a Zulu grammar in 1855, within months of his arrival, and translated the New Testament into Zulu. This substantial Zulu–English dictionary appeared in 1861, with financial support from the colonial legislature. It contains over 10,000 entries, many with examples of usage, and includes loan words from European languages. The Preface provides brief notes on phonology, and explains Colenso's orthographic principles, criteria for selection, and the structure of the entries. The dictionary remained a standard work even after Colenso's death, and a fourth revised edition was published in 1905.
A Catalogue of Dictionaries, Vocabularies, Grammars, and Alphabets
Authors: Marsden William
Published: May 2013

Born in Ireland, William Marsden (1754–1836) was a pioneer in the study of oriental languages, in particular those of modern-day Malaysia and Indonesia. At the age of seventeen he joined his elder brother to work for the East India Company in Sumatra, and began researching the languages of the East Indies. He moved to London in 1779 and became associated with its scientific and academic circles, attending meetings of the Royal Society and becoming a friend of Sir Joseph Banks. This gave him access to vocabularies compiled by naval officers, and these, combined with his own observations, allowed him to produce the pioneering works that made his reputation. (His History of Sumatra and Dictionary of the Malayan Language are also reissued in this series.) First published in 1796, this work helped to fuel the growing interest in languages and philology at the turn of the nineteenth century.
Jane Austen's Sailor Brothers
Authors: Hubback John H. , Hubback Edith C.
Published: May 2013

Two of Jane Austen's brothers made successful careers in the Navy: Francis (1774–1865) rose to the rank of Admiral; Charles (1779–1852) to Rear-Admiral. Jane's naval heroes, most notably Captain Wentworth in Persuasion, as well as much of her knowledge of naval life and contemporary affairs during the Napoleonic Wars, owe much to the stories and letters of her brothers. Written by Francis Austen's grandson John Hubback and his daughter Edith, this double biography is informed by family tradition as well as research into contemporary documents. The Hubbacks, with their unique insight, suggest many family anecdotes and characteristics as possible sources for Jane's novels. Beyond its interest as a record of how her brothers' naval careers influenced her work, this book, first published in 1906, also remains of great interest to historians of the Navy in the first half of the nineteenth century.
The Golden Bough
Authors: Frazer James George
Published: May 2013

This work by Sir James Frazer (1854–1941) is widely considered to be one of the most important early texts in the fields of psychology and anthropology. At the same time, by applying modern methods of comparative ethnography to the classical world, and revealing the superstition and irrationality beneath the surface of the classical culture which had for so long been a model for Western civilisation, it was extremely controversial. Frazer was greatly influenced by E. B. Tylor's Primitive Culture (also reissued in this series), and by the work of the biblical scholar William Robertson Smith, to whom the first edition is dedicated. The twelve-volume third edition, reissued here, was greatly revised and enlarged, and published between 1911 and 1915; the two-volume first edition (1890) is also available in this series. Volumes 7 and 8 (1912) discuss the relationship of human sacrifice to the fertility of crops.
Essays on Professional Education
Authors: Edgeworth Richard Lovell
Published: May 2013

The scientist Richard Lovell Edgeworth (1744–1817), educated at Trinity College, Dublin, and Oxford, was known for his significant mechanical inventions. He was a Member of the Lunar Society of Birmingham, where he exchanged ideas with other scientists, including James Watt. However, Edgeworth was also greatly interested in education: drawing on his own experiences of raising twenty children (by his four wives), in 1788 he published, with his daughter, the poet Maria Edgeworth, his famous two-volume Practical Education (also reissued in this series). The work was very influential, and led to this book, published in 1809, a series of essays on professional education (again written in co-operation with Maria), dealing with the nature of different occupations in a state. He discusses education for the professions, including the Church, the Army and the Law, but also refers to the education of statesmen, gentlemen and even princes.
Practical Education
Authors: Edgeworth Maria , Edgeworth Richard Lovell
Published: May 2013

The scientist Richard Lovell Edgeworth (1744–1817), educated at Trinity College, Dublin, and Oxford, was a Member of the Lunar Society of Birmingham, where he exchanged ideas with other scientists, including James Watt, and was known for his significant mechanical inventions. However, Edgeworth's real interest was education: in this 1788 two-volume work, written with his daughter, the poet Maria Edgeworth (1768–1849), he draws on his own experience of raising twenty children (by his four wives), from which the work derives its authority and innovative character. The work was very influential, and led to his Essays on Professional Education (1809; also reissued in this series). The two volumes discuss the theories of philosophers and educationalists, while in general arguing for the importance and formative character of early childhood experiences. Volume 1 deals with different areas of childhood education, including play, learning, and obedience and good behaviour.
Practical Education
Authors: Edgeworth Maria , Edgeworth Richard Lovell
Published: May 2013

The scientist Richard Lovell Edgeworth (1744–1817), educated at Trinity College, Dublin, and Oxford, was a Member of the Lunar Society of Birmingham, where he exchanged ideas with other scientists, including James Watt, and was known for his significant mechanical inventions. However, Edgeworth's real interest was education: in this 1788 two-volume work, written with his daughter, the poet Maria Edgeworth (1768–1849), he draws on his own experience of raising twenty children (by his four wives), from which the work derives its authority and innovative character. The work was very influential, and led to his Essays on Professional Education (1809; also reissued in this series). The two volumes discuss the theories of philosophers and educationalists, while in general arguing for the importance and formative character of early childhood experiences. Volume 2 discusses schooling, the idea of creativity and imagination, and the relationship between public and private education.
The Golden Bough
Authors: Frazer James George
Published: May 2013

This work by Sir James Frazer (1854–1941) is widely considered to be one of the most important early texts in the fields of psychology and anthropology. At the same time, by applying modern methods of comparative ethnography to the classical world, and revealing the superstition and irrationality beneath the surface of classical culture, and also by examining Christianity using the same techniques, it was extremely controversial. Frazer was greatly influenced by E. B. Tylor's Primitive Culture (also reissued in this series), and by the work of the biblical scholar William Robertson Smith, to whom the first edition is dedicated. That edition, reissued here, was published in two volumes in 1890; the third edition, greatly enlarged to twelve volumes, and published between 1911 and 1915, is also available in this series. Volume 2 pursues the motif of human sacrifice through the mythology and practices of other cultures.
An Agnostic's Apology
Authors: Stephen Leslie
Published: May 2013

The term 'agnostic' was probably coined by T. H. Huxley during a speech to the Metaphysical Society in 1869. From the Greek 'agnostos', 'unknown', it was derived from St Paul's mention of an Athenian altar inscribed 'to the unknown god'. With these overtones of ancient philosophy, agnosticism became the tag of an emergent school of thought which posited that the existence of anything beyond the material and measurable should be considered unknowable. In this collection of seven essays, first published as one volume in 1893, Leslie Stephen (1832–1904) makes a study of the 'unknown'. Across the essays, he presents arguments for the intrinsic agnosticism of many of the basic tenets of deism, explores the way in which humans construct dreams and realities, and examines the relationship between physics and philosophy. This readable and entertaining book will be of interest to students of both theology and philosophy.
Arthur Young's Travels in France
Authors: Young Arthur
Published: May 2013

This work was first published in 1793 by the agricultural expert Arthur Young (1741–1820). In addition to farming, he describes the scenery, roads, inns, manners, and - more significantly - examples both of wealth and poverty. Despite describing some servants he encountered in an inn as 'walking dunghills', he was acutely aware of the grinding poverty of the rural poor, noting the excesses of the ruling class, and ascribing to bad government the striking differences he found between the lives of working people in France and England. Hearing of the fall of the Bastille whilst in Strasbourg, he recognised it as presaging either a new constitution or 'inextricable confusions and civil war'. This centennial edition includes an account of recent journeys made by the editor, noting the changes seen since Young's original work. The work remains one of the most fascinating and valuable sources for understanding the conditions of pre-revolutionary rural France.
Essays on Freethinking and Plain Speaking
Authors: Stephen Leslie
Published: May 2013

Sir Leslie Stephen (1832–1904), the founding Editor of the Dictionary of National Biography and writer on philosophy, ethics, and literature, was educated at Eton, King's College, London, and Trinity Hall, Cambridge, where he remained as a Fellow and tutor until 1864, becoming an ordained priest in 1859. Doubt concerning his religious convictions set in rapidly, although it was not until 1875 that he formally renounced his orders. First published in book form in 1873, these closely argued essays challenging the philosophy of religious doctrine were written originally for Fraser's Magazine and The Fortnightly Review. Despite its cautious reception, the work established his reputation as a leading writer on agnosticism, paving the way for his later work The Science of Ethics. His interest in eighteenth-century thinkers is reflected in this work, with chapters on Shaftesbury and Warburton, and contemporary debate is explored in the essay on Darwinism and Divinity.
Disciplining Terror
Authors: Stampnitzky Lisa
Published: May 2013

Since 9/11 we have been told that terrorists are pathological evildoers, beyond our comprehension. Before the 1970s, however, hijackings, assassinations, and other acts we now call 'terrorism' were considered the work of rational strategic actors. Disciplining Terror examines how political violence became 'terrorism', and how this transformation ultimately led to the current 'war on terror'. Drawing upon archival research and interviews with terrorism experts, Lisa Stampnitzky traces the political and academic struggles through which experts made terrorism, and terrorism made experts. She argues that the expert discourse on terrorism operates at the boundary - itself increasingly contested - between science and politics, and between academic expertise and the state. Despite terrorism now being central to contemporary political discourse, there have been few empirical studies of terrorism experts. This book investigates how the concept of terrorism has been developed and used over recent decades.
Comparative Grammar of the Modern Aryan Languages of India
Authors: Beames John
Published: May 2013

The Indo-Aryan language family is a branch of the Indo-European phylum, and includes Hindi, Urdu, Bengali, Punjabi, Kashmiri and Gujarati. First published in 1872, this three-volume comparative grammar of the family was written by the British civil servant John Beames (1837–1902). From 1866 he spent twelve years in India, during which he gathered data for what he intended to be the first comprehensive and accurate Indo-Aryan grammar. Volume 1 focuses on phonetics and phonology. Drawing on evidence from Indo-Aryan sound systems, it shows Sanskrit to be the languages' parent, while exploring some non-Sanskritic exceptions. It also gives a detailed historical background to the languages, provides careful descriptions of their vowel and consonant systems, and explores how Indo-Aryan phonology has changed over time. Beames' findings remain central to the work of general linguists, phonologists and language typologists.
Comparative Grammar of the Modern Aryan Languages of India
Authors: Beames John
Published: May 2013

The Indo-Aryan language family is a branch of the Indo-European phylum, and includes Hindi, Urdu, Bengali, Punjabi, Kashmiri and Gujarati. First published in 1875, this three-volume comparative grammar of the family was written by the British civil servant John Beames (1837–1902). From 1866 he spent twelve years in India, during which he gathered data for what he intended to be the first comprehensive and accurate Indo-Aryan grammar. Volume 3 focuses on verbs. It begins by describing the structure of Sanskrit verbs, showing them to be the origin of the analytical verb constructions found in Indo-Aryan languages. It then compares Indo-Aryan verbs in terms of tense and transitivity, and explores passive constructions, conditionals, and imperatives across the seven most widely spoken languages in the family. Beames' findings remain central to the work of general linguists, grammarians and language typologists.
The Life and Letters of Leslie Stephen
Authors: Maitland Frederic William , Stephen Leslie
Published: May 2013

Leslie Stephen (1832–1904), the founding Editor of the Dictionary of National Biography, was one of the leading literary figures of the nineteenth century. Stephen, the father of artist Vanessa Bell and writer Virginia Woolf, began his career writing for London publications before being appointed Editor of The Cornhill Magazine in 1881. The magazine's proprietor approached him with the idea for the Dictionary, and the first volume appeared in 1885 to much acclaim - but by 1889 Stephen had collapsed from overwork and finally stepped down from his editorial role in 1891. However, he continued to write extensively not least, publishing the three-volume The English Utilitarians (also reissued in this series) in 1900. This biography, published in 1906, was written by family friend and legal historian Frederic Maitland (1850–1906), who drew extensively from Stephen's letters to give a detailed account of the life of a most influential Victorian.
Stratford-on-Avon
Authors: Lee Sidney , Hull Edward
Published: May 2013

Sir Sidney Lee (1859–1926) was a lifelong scholar and enthusiast of Shakespeare, but is also remembered as the 'sub-editor' recruited by Sir Leslie Stephen when he was embarking on the project of the Dictionary of National Biography, and whose editorial and organisational skills were vital in keeping the publication programme close to its planned schedule. His own contributions to the Dictionary included an account of the life of Queen Victoria and (in Volume 51, 1897) William Shakespeare. This study of Stratford-on-Avon was first published in 1885, and the greatly enlarged version, reissued here, in 1890. (In 1898 Lee produced his biography of Shakespeare (also reissued in this series), regarded for much of the twentieth century as the most reliable account of Shakespeare's life.) This illustrated work draws on the archival material then available to provide a history of the town of Stratford up to the time of Shakespeare's death.
A Life of William Shakespeare
Authors: Lee Sidney
Published: May 2013

Sir Sidney Lee (1859–1926) was a lifelong scholar and enthusiast of Shakespeare, but is also remembered as the 'sub-editor' recruited by Sir Leslie Stephen when he was embarking on the great project of the Dictionary of National Biography, and whose editorial and organisational skills were vital in keeping the publication programme close to its planned schedule. Lee was acknowledged as joint Editor with Stephen of Volume 21, and as sole Editor for Volumes 27 to 63. His own contributions included an account of the life of Queen Victoria and (in Volume 51, 1897) William Shakespeare. This full-length life followed in 1898 and is often credited as the first modern biography of the poet. It was an immediate popular success, and, given the limitations of the material available at the time of writing, was regarded for much of the twentieth century as the most reliable account of Shakespeare's life.
Sir John Franklin and the Arctic Regions
Authors: Simmonds Peter Lund
Published: May 2013

In May 1845, the famous Arctic explorer John Franklin (1786–1847) embarked on another attempt to find the elusive North-West Passage. He never returned from this voyage, and was last seen by whalers in Baffin Bay in July 1845. Some thirty rescue missions were launched between 1847 and 1859 to find the missing men. Franklin was not the first explorer to make the dangerous voyage to find the route connecting the Atlantic and Pacific, and journalist Peter Lund Simmonds (1814–97) draws from a wide range of reports and publications about these expeditions in his history of the search for the North-West Passage, published in 1851. The detailed account also includes descriptions of the many missions to find Franklin, and this second edition was published later in the same year as the first in order to include updated reports on the progress of his rescue.
The Weather Book
Authors: Fitzroy Robert
Published: May 2013

Robert Fitzroy (1805–65) is best remembered as the commander of HMS Beagle who took on Charles Darwin as the Ship's naturalist, but his most important scientific contribution was probably the establishment of the Meteorological Office in 1854. Convinced that falling barometric pressure was an indicator of storms, he had barometers set up at ports around the coast, so that boats would be aware of impending bad weather, and later had reports telegraphed to his office in London for collation; he invented the term 'forecasting the weather'. This work, published in 1863, gives an account of observations by himself and others, experiments, and proposals for future developments. Almost unbelievably, the Government declared that Fitzroy was exceeding his remit: he was instructed to restrict himself to collecting data, and it is believed that the depression he suffered at this setback was one of the factors which led to his suicide in 1865.
The Literary Life and Correspondence of the Countess of Blessington
Authors: Madden Richard Robert , Blessington Marguerite
Published: May 2013

Following her advantageous second marriage, the famous beauty Marguerite, Countess of Blessington (1789–1849), presided over one of London's most glittering salons, variously attended by Thomas Moore, Disraeli, Bulwer Lytton and Dickens. After her husband's death in 1829, she augmented her income by writing, most notably her Conversations with Lord Byron, which recounted her acquaintance with the poet in Genoa. Despite considerable success, her debt-ridden establishment collapsed in 1849 and Lady Blessington fled to Paris, where she died. This 1855 biography and letters, in three volumes was edited by R. R. Madden (1798–1886), colonial administrator and Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons, who had first met the Blessingtons in Naples in 1821. It illuminates the role of the salon hostess and its many financial and emotional pressures. Volume 1 includes an account of her life and literary career, and a brief life of the Count d'Orsay, her long-term companion.
The Literary Life and Correspondence of the Countess of Blessington
Authors: Madden Richard Robert , Blessington Marguerite
Published: May 2013

Following her advantageous second marriage, the famous beauty Marguerite, Countess of Blessington (1789–1849), presided over one of London's most glittering salons, variously attended by Thomas Moore, Disraeli, Bulwer Lytton and Dickens. After her husband's death in 1829, she augmented her income by writing, most notably her Conversations with Lord Byron, which recounted her acquaintance with the poet in Genoa. Despite considerable success, her debt-ridden establishment collapsed in 1849 and Lady Blessington fled to Paris, where she died. This 1855 biography and letters, in three volumes was edited by R. R. Madden (1798–1886), colonial administrator and Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons, who had first met the Blessingtons in Naples in 1821. It illuminates the intriguing social role of the salon hostess and its many financial and emotional pressures. Volume 2 contains brief biographies of her various correspondents, followed by their letters.
A Voyage to the South Atlantic and Round Cape Horn into the Pacific Ocean
Authors: Colnett James
Published: May 2013

British naval officer James Colnett (1753–1806) served on many voyages during his career. He was a midshipman on Captain Cook's second voyage, and in 1774, he was first to sight New Caledonia, which led to Cook naming Cape Colnett after him. Later in his career, he was in command of the fur-trading expedition that resulted in the Nootka Crisis and near-war between Spain and England. In this book, first published in 1798, Colnett gives an account of the voyage he commanded to the Antarctic in 1793. The expedition's success at charting suitable places for ships to anchor was instrumental to the development of the whaling industry in the area. This book contains accounts and maps of the islands and coastlands visited during the expedition. Among the islands visited were the Galapagos Islands, and Charles Darwin is known to have had a copy of this book on HMS Beagle.
Franklin's Footsteps
Authors: Markham Clements R.
Published: May 2013

Clement Robert Markham (1830–1916) was a geographer who took part in one of the many Arctic expeditions launched to search for missing explorer John Franklin (1786–1847). This account, published in 1853, was written in response to criticism of the expedition. They had found some evidence of Franklin's route - he had set off in May 1845 to find the North-West Passage - but returned to Britain without any of the survivors. Markham gives a brief history of Arctic exploration, but the majority of the book recounts the expedition's efforts to find Franklin. The crew endured a harsh winter and sailed in iceberg-laden waters along the coast of Greenland, looking for clues of Franklin's whereabouts. They also spent some time exploring the Parry Islands (the present-day Queen Elizabeth Islands). Markham's account of the rescue mission provides insight into the little-known and often dangerous world of Arctic explorers.
A Long Life's Work
Authors: Geikie Archibald
Published: May 2013

Despite never graduating from university, Sir Archibald Geikie (1835–1924) forged an exceptionally successful scientific career. In 1855 he was appointed to the Scottish branch of the Geological Survey, and by 1882 was Director General of the Survey. In keeping with his Edinburgh beginnings, most of his career was spent studying igneous rocks. He was a prolific and gifted writer, producing textbooks, popular science books and biographical and historical works, including the influential Founders of Geology (1897), as well as numerous technical publications. The only geologist to hold the post of President of The Royal Society (1908–12), he also served as President of the Geological Society of London and the British Association, and received an array of honorary degrees and medals. This autobiography, published in the year of his death, provides a readable, personal account of the life of one of the great scientific figures of the nineteenth century.
Volcanoes and Earthquakes
Authors: Zurcher Frédéric , Margollé Elie
Published: May 2013

The original French edition of this book appeared in 1866 as part of Hachette's extensive, popularising Bibliothèque des Merveilles series, which included several science titles by Frédéric Zurcher (1816–90) and Elie Margollé (1816–84). Their books were illustrated with attractive wood-cuts, and remained in print until the 1880s; they were also translated into English. This volume was published in London in 1868, and is a good example of popular science publishing in Victorian Britain. The material is organised geographically, beginning in Europe with Vesuvius, Etna and Icelandic volcanoes including Hecla, all of which had recently seen major eruptions. The authors quote from eyewitness accounts, and refer to scholarly publications on volcanoes including Darwin (1844) and Scrope (1862), also reissued in the Cambridge Library Collection. Later chapters describe oceanic volcanoes, the Andes, the volcanic zone of New Zealand's North Island, and recently discovered volcanoes such as Mt Erebus in Antarctica.
Alone with the Hairy Ainu
Authors: Landor A. H. S.
Published: May 2013

A. H. Savage Landor (1867–1925), the grandson of the author Walter Savage Landor (1775–1864), was born and educated in Florence. He abandoned his painting studies in Paris to travel around the world, and visited Asia, the Middle East and South America, supporting himself as he went by painting portraits of people he encountered. Landor became a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society in 1892, and a Member of the Royal Institution in 1897. This volume, first published in 1893, deals with his adventurous experiences among the indigenous Ainu, the 'hairy men' who lived in the northern 'home islands' of Japan and in Sakhalin, the island whose possession was disputed by Japan and Russia for two hundred years. Landor insisted on 'doing in Ainuland as the Ainu does'. He describes his journey through the Ainu territory and gives a detailed and ethnographically aware account of its people and their culture.
A Geognostical Essay on the Superposition of Rocks in Both Hemispheres
Authors: Humboldt Alexander von
Published: May 2013

The explorer and multi-disciplinary scientist Alexander von Humboldt (1769–1859) was a prominent figure in the European scientific community of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries and the first to make a scientific survey of South and Central America. His travels alone brought him widespread recognition, but the extensive field notes and research he undertook were developed further on his return. Originally published in French and translated in 1823, this work brought his geological speculations to a British audience. Humboldt explores the positioning of different types of rocks across the globe, and the causes behind these formations. He also hypothesises that the flora of these areas are affected by the geology, which in turn is influenced by the thermal currents of the earth's molten core. These insights into rock formations are also key to Humboldt's theory of continental drift, now recognised as resulting from the shifting of the continental plates.
Rear Admiral Sir John Franklin
Authors: Ross John
Published: May 2013

Sir John Ross (1777–1856), the distinguished British naval officer and Arctic explorer, undertook three great voyages to the Arctic regions; accounts of his first and his second voyages are also reissued in this series. (During the latter, his ship was stranded in the unexplored area of Prince Regent Inlet, where Ross and his crew survived by living and eating as the local Inuit did.) In this volume, first published in 1855, the explorer describes his experiences during his third (privately funded) Arctic voyage, undertaken in 1850 as part of the effort to locate the missing expedition led by Sir John Franklin, his close friend. Ross also summarises in partisan style the previous efforts by the Royal Navy to find out what happened to the Erebus and Terror, and is scathing in his account of what he regards as the mismanagement and incompetence of the Admiralty.
Vocabulaire Français–Esquimau
Authors: Petitot Émile
Published: May 2013

French missionary Émile Petitot (1838–1916) was based in Canada's Northwest Territories for twelve years, from 1862. He visited the Inuit people five times and became so well accepted that they called him 'Mr Petitot, son of the Sun'. Petitot believed that understanding Inuit languages was crucial to the religious conversion of the natives. During his mission, he collected more linguistic material than ever before and prepared dictionaries of the various Dene dialects. In this book, published in 1876, he describes the Inuit's traditions and sets about the monumental task of compiling the first grammar and vocabulary of the extremely complex Tchiglit dialect. Petitot also made substantial contributions to the geology, palaeontology, zoology and botany of the Northwest region. His efforts were rewarded with a Silver Medal from the French Société de Géographie and the Back Award from the Royal Geographical Society of London.
The Open Polar Sea
Authors: Hayes Isaac Israel
Published: May 2013

The Open Polar Sea was one of the most prevalent myths of nineteenth-century Arctic exploration. Several explorers had hypothesised a stretch of ice-free sea between Greenland and the North Pole, and several expeditions set out in search of it. One of these was planned and led by Isaac Israel Hayes (1832–81), an American physician and explorer. This account of the expedition, first published in 1866, was compiled from his journals. Having left Boston in a small schooner so overloaded with equipment that a passenger could lean over the deck rail and touch the sea, Hayes and his crew almost faced shipwreck off Nova Scotia and regularly saw their cabins flooded on their way to Greenland, where, in calmer weather, they encountered the first palatial ice floes. Written for the general reader rather than for scientific purposes, this book still serves as an accessible, entertaining guide to the voyage.
Fur-Clad Adventurers
Authors: Mudge Zacariah Atwell
Published: May 2013

Z. A. Mudge (1813–88) was an American pastor, author and Arctic exploration enthusiast. After the success of his popular books North Pole Voyages and Arctic Heroes, he wrote this book on the Western Union Telegraph Expedition. In the mid-nineteenth century the Western Union Telegraph Company decided to create a telegraph line that would run from San Francisco, California to Moscow, Russia. The line was to run through Alaska and Siberia, and although the project was abandoned in 1867, a large amount of Arctic exploration had been achieved in the meantime. This book, first published in 1880, is Mudge's compilation of the accounts of some of the explorers who were involved in different stages of the expedition, including the naturalist W. H. Dall during his exploration in Alaska. Mudge goes on to include the Siberian experiences of George Kennan and W. H. Bush (whose own account is also reissued in this series).
A Narrative of the Discovery of the Fate of Sir John Franklin and his Companions
Authors: McClintock Francis Leopold
Published: May 2013

Sir Francis Leopold McClintock (1819–1907) established his reputation as an Arctic explorer on voyages with Ross and Belcher, undertaking long and dangerous sledge journeys charting the territory. McClintock's account of his 1857–9 expedition on the yacht Fox through the North-West Passage to discover the fate of Arctic explorer Sir John Franklin and his ships, the Erebus and Terror, was first published in 1859. The journey was commissioned by Franklin's widow who, unhappy with the Admiralty's reluctance to seek confirmation of the account of her husband's expedition brought back in 1854 by explorer John Rae, commissioned McClintock to seek corroborating evidence. After a punishing voyage, including 250 days beset by ice in Baffin Bay drifting some 1,400 miles, the search continued by sledge. It was William Hobson, McClintock's second-in-command who found the written evidence documenting Franklin's death in 1847. The grim remains of others who had perished were also discovered.
Memoirs of Lieutenant Joseph René Bellot, with his Journal of a Voyage in the Polar Seas in Search of Sir John Franklin
Authors: Bellot Joseph René
Published: May 2013

Joseph René Bellot (1826–53) was a French naval officer whose travels took him from Africa to the Arctic before his tragic death at the age of 27. In 1851 he joined a British expedition to search for the missing explorer Sir John Franklin (1786–1847), whose expedition to find the North-West Passage was last heard of in July 1845. Although the voyage was unsuccessful in its search, it explored previously unknown areas of the Arctic. Bellot kept extensive notes about his journey in this remote region; they originally appeared in French in 1854 and were translated into English in 1855 and published in two volumes. Volume 1 contains a biography of Bellot, who was regarded as a hero in both France and Britain, and the first part of his journal, which describes the ship's departure from Scotland, their arrival in Greenland and their encounters with the indigenous people there.
Proceedings of the Proteus Court of Inquiry on the Greely Relief Expedition of 1883
Authors: United States Congress
Published: May 2013

In 1881, Adolphus Greely led a US Arctic expedition to gather meteorological, astronomical and magnetic data. The expedition was poorly supported by the US Army, neither Greely nor his men had experience of Arctic conditions, and their ship, the Proteus, sailed home without them once they landed in Greenland. An inadequately planned relief mission failed to reach them in 1882, and a second expedition in 1883, including the Proteus, also failed to locate the men or to land supplies. In 1884, Congress investigated the earlier attempts with a view to launching a further rescue. This report includes an inquiry into the inadequate earlier missions, details of Greely's original resources, and suggestions for a plan of approach for the rescue, including how to find the men and where they were likely to be. When found in 1884, only seven of the original team of twenty-five were still alive.
Report of the President and Council of the Royal Society on the Instructions to be Prepared for the Scientific Expedition to the Antarctic Regions
Authors: Royal Society
Published: May 2013

The 1839–43 Antarctic expedition was primarily a scientific voyage. James Clark Ross, a member of the expedition that had located the Magnetic North Pole in 1831, was the natural choice to lead this mission to find the Magnetic South Pole. Although he was unsuccessful in this aim, he charted the coastline of most of the continent, collected valuable scientific data and made several important discoveries. Published in 1840, these papers were prepared by the Royal Society for the expedition and give detailed instructions on how to make the important magnetic and meteorological observations. There are further instructions, such as how to preserve animal specimens, and surprisingly a request to investigate the reasons for the poor cultivation of vines at the Cape of Good Hope as 'the bad quality of Cape wine … is well known'. These papers reveal the expectations and demands placed upon this expedition.