It contains sources for African Studies, South and East Asian Studies, Australasian and Pacific Studies and US and European History. Part 1 starts with a section on early travel writing by women , featuring works by 11 pioneers of the genre. These works are an essential preface to the remainder of this project, establishing the foundations of the genre and exhibiting many of the tropes that later reoccur. More than a dozen writers describe their lives and experiences in India . Some of the best accounts of life in India in the 19th century can be found in novels written by residents who could use the devices of fiction to satirize imperial society and rule.
Sources concerning life in Africa are equally rich.
A sensitive ethnologist and naturalist, she did much to record tribal customs and beliefs. Many of the works relating to Australasia and Canada have a broader interest to those exploring imperial themes. Over 20 volumes describe life from the Australian outback to the backwoods of Canada. These rare printed sources offer many potential dissertation topics from the role of women in Empire to their understanding of the lives of women of other cultures. The complete Indian housekeeper and cook, by two twenty year's residents.