This nineteenth-century travelogue documents John Turnbull's five-year journey around the world. Turnbull (fl. 1799 1813), a sailor in the merchant service, set out from Portsmouth in 1800 with the original purpose of pursuing trade in north-west Asia. In his ship, the Margaret, he sailed via Madeira and around the Cape of Good Hope. Setting aside his trading plans, he went on to explore Pacific territories, including Australia, Norfolk Island and the Society Islands. This book records his observations throughout, and also includes an appendix featuring Turnbull's account of his time in New Zealand. His notes from the voyage were first published in 1805, and an abridged version appeared a year later. This expanded edition was published in 1813. Popular at the time due to growing public interest in the Antipodes, A Voyage Round the World is a fascinating memoir of ship life and English exploration of the Pacific in the early nineteenth century.

Thomas Falkner (1707 84), one-time pupil of both Richard Mead and Isaac Newton, was an English Jesuit missionary who lived for nearly forty years in South America until 1767, when he returned to England following the Jesuits' expulsion from Cordoba. Originally published in 1774 in the hope that it 'might be of some public utility, and might also afford some amusement to the curious', this is a first-hand description of Patagonia, believed to have been consulted by Charles Darwin on board the Beagle. Illustrated with a map drawn from the author's knowledge and experience, it is an account of the dramatic physical geography of the area as well as the customs, beliefs and language of its inhabitants. Falkner's narrative ranges from a discussion of the virtues of American tea (in certain particulars 'far excelling the tea of China') to a detailed depiction of the role of wizards and rituals involving demons.

Thomas Pennant (1726 98) is remembered for his work in bringing natural history to popular attention and for his engaging travel writing. With a number of fine engravings, this work, first published in 1771 and reissued here in its second edition of 1772, is typical of Pennant's output. More than a mere travelogue, it recounts his tour - via Tayside, Inverness, Wick and Fort William - of the Scottish Highlands, then largely unknown to outsiders but of notable interest to students of natural history. The volume is of particular significance for its meticulous descriptions of significant locations, buildings and wildlife, revealing Pennant's thorough mind and tireless capacity for observation, and also for its methodology: Pennant drew on local knowledge gathered by circulating queries in advance (these are included as an appendix). Several of Pennant's other works, including his Tour in Wales, are also reissued in the Cambridge Library Collection."

Following participation in the Arctic search for Sir John Franklin, the mariner and author William Parker Snow (1817 95) volunteered in 1854 to command the schooner Allen Gardiner, named after the man whose work for the South American Missionary Society was to be resumed. Although conceived as 'merely a simple narrative of daily life in the Southern Seas', this illustrated two-volume work becomes simultaneously a first-hand account of a sailor's experiences and observations, and a self-justification against those by whom he felt disappointed, frustrated and deceived. Volume 1 recounts the history of the Falkland Islands and the circumstances of this mission, covering the voyage to Patagonia, the establishment of a station on Keppel Island and the first friendly meetings with 'dreaded savages'. First published in 1857, the book met with some success. Snow, however, wasted the proceeds on a fruitless action against his former employers.

George Anson Byron (1789-1868), cousin of the famous poet, was a naval officer and the seventh Baron Byron. When the king and queen of Hawaii died of measles in July 1824 on a visit to England, Byron was chosen to lead the voyage that returned the bodies to their native land. Prepared by Maria Graham (1785-1842), known later as Lady Callcott, this work was published in 1826 and organised into two parts: the first gives a brief history of the islands, culminating in an account of the fatal visit; the second and larger part is compiled from the journals of those on board HMS Blonde. Engravings made from the drawings of the ship's artist, Robert Dampier, complement observations about the geography of Hawaii, its people and their customs. The remarkable journey home involved the first European sighting of Malden Island and the rescue of survivors from a shipwreck.

Beyond the fact that he made a journey to the Holy Land between 1336 and 1341, very little is known about Ludolf von Suchem (whose first name may in fact have been Rudolf). However, his work has long been regarded as a major source of information about the eastern Mediterranean in the fourteenth century, owing to its high level of detail. Ludolf states his intention to describe the region, its buildings, towns, fortified places, people, customs, stories and legends, drawing on both his own observations, and on information from the 'kings, princes, nobles and lords' with whom he spent days and nights in conversation. Some stories are clearly travellers' tales, but others, like his account of the fall of Acre (1291), based on reports by eyewitnesses, are both full and convincing. This English translation, by Aubrey Stewart (1844-1918), of Ludolf's Latin text was published in 1895.

The American artist George Catlin (1796-1872) was fascinated by the indigenous people of his homeland and spent many years living among them, painting them, and collecting their artefacts. In 1839 he took his vast collection to Europe to exhibit it, and he also toured with groups of visiting Native Americans. This illustrated two-volume account of his experiences was published in 1848. In Volume 2, Catlin discusses his travels with visiting Native Americans to Dublin, and later Paris, where he staged another exhibition and met King Louis Philippe. The final chapter recounts Catlin's attempt to sell his entire collection to the United States government to preserve 'all the records of this dying race'. His earlier account, Letters and Notes on the Manners, Customs, and Condition of the North American Indians (1841), is also reissued in this series, along with two later books for children about life among various tribes.

A student of Carl Linnaeus, Pehr Osbeck (1723 1805) was a Swedish explorer, naturalist and chaplain. He travelled to Asia in 1750 2 and brought back some six hundred specimens that were included in Linnaeus' Species Plantarum (1753). His account of his voyage was published in Swedish in 1757, in German in 1765, and here in English in 1771, edited and translated by Johann Reinhold Forster (1729 98). This two-volume work also includes letters to Linnaeus by another pupil, Olof Toren (1718 53), who also travelled to the East in the early 1750s, as well as a paper on Chinese husbandry by Carl Gustaf Ekeberg (1716 84). Ekeberg made ten trips to China and India between 1742 and 1778, becoming a captain in the Swedish East India Company. He too brought back numerous specimens for Linnaeus. Volume 2 contains the conclusion of Osbeck's account, the pieces by Toren and Ekeberg, and a catalogue of animals and plants native to China.

Clergyman, schoolmaster and writer on aesthetics, William Gilpin (1724 1804) is best known for his works on the picturesque. In his Essay on Prints, published in 1768 and reissued in this series, he defined picturesque as 'a term expressive of that peculiar kind of beauty, which is agreeable in a picture'. First published in 1789, this two-volume work forms part of a series which records his reflections on the picturesque across British landscapes. It traces the journey he made in 1776, equipped with notebook and sketching materials, exploring the landscape of the Scottish Highlands via northern England, Edinburgh and Glasgow. Reproductions of his pen-and-wash drawings are included. The companion volumes of Gilpin's Observations on other parts of Britain are also reissued in the Cambridge Library Collection. Volume 1 of the present work takes in such notable sites as Holyrood Palace, Stirling Castle, the Grampian Mountains and Glencoe."

Originally published in 1925, this book contains the edited text of Arthur Young's eighteenth century travelogue A Tour In Ireland. Young records his journey all around the country, as well as making observations on Irish life under English dominion after the Cromwellian and Williamite wars. This book will be of value to anyone with an interest in Irish history.

The account of the most famous explorer of all time in his own words.

The American artist George Catlin (1796-1872) was fascinated by the indigenous people of his homeland and spent many years living among them, painting them, and collecting their artefacts. In 1839 he took his vast collection to Europe to exhibit it, and he also toured with groups of visiting Native Americans. This illustrated two-volume account of his experiences was published in 1848. Volume 1 begins with Catlin's voyage to England across the Atlantic, for which he embarked with eight tons of freight. He goes on to discuss such events as introducing a group of Native Americans to Queen Victoria. He also includes, in the appendices, press reviews of the exhibition and a catalogue of his collection. Catlin's earlier account, Letters and Notes on the Manners, Customs, and Condition of the North American Indians (1841), is also reissued in this series, along with two later books for children about life among various tribes.

In 1783, at the opportunity presented by a new Panchen (or Teshoo) Lama, Bengal governor-general Warren Hastings sent a deputation to Tibet and Bhutan in the hope of promoting British-Indian trade across the Himalayas. Samuel Turner (1759 1802), an army officer in the East India Company, was appointed leader of the mission. His journal, offering first-hand descriptions of these countries, was originally published in 1800 and remained the only such English-language work for more than half a century. Assisted by the botanist and surgeon Robert Saunders and the surveyor and illustrator Samuel Davis, Turner interweaves geographical and scientific observations with descriptions of social and religious customs; the vivid account of his reception by the infant Panchen Lama is of particular note. The introduction sketches the history of Bengal Bhutan relations and George Bogle's prior mission, while later sections deal with Tibet and the influence of China. This was and remains an invaluable account of eighteenth-century diplomacy.

In 1860, James Bruce (1811 63), the eighth Earl of Elgin, embarked upon a second embassy to China which aimed to obtain ratification of the Treaty of Tientsin and finally conclude the Second Opium War on terms favourable to the British. Accompanying Elgin as his private secretary was the enterprising army officer Henry Brougham Loch (1827 1900). Originally published in 1869, Loch's first-hand account of the mission reflects sustained concern over Britain's strained trading relationship with China in the nineteenth century. Notwithstanding his views regarding the need for European influence to shape China's future success in government, his clearly written narrative illuminates contemporary diplomacy and the events surrounding the Convention of Peking in October 1860. Prior to this outcome, Loch had been captured, imprisoned and brutally tortured by Chinese officials. His chapters detailing this experience and his eventual release are especially noteworthy.

A student of Carl Linnaeus, Pehr Osbeck (1723 1805) was a Swedish explorer, naturalist and chaplain. He travelled to Asia in 1750 2 and brought back some six hundred specimens that were included in Linnaeus' Species Plantarum (1753). His account of his voyage was published in Swedish in 1757, in German in 1765, and here in English in 1771, edited and translated by Johann Reinhold Forster (1729 98). This two-volume work also includes letters to Linnaeus by another pupil, Olof Toren (1718 53), who also travelled to the East in the early 1750s, as well as a paper on Chinese husbandry by Carl Gustaf Ekeberg (1716 84). Ekeberg made ten trips to China and India between 1742 and 1778, becoming a captain in the Swedish East India Company. He too brought back numerous specimens for Linnaeus. Volume 1, however, is given over entirely to Osbeck's narrative.

Beautifully illustrated throughout, this English translation of Desire Charnay's record of his travels among the ancient cities of Mexico and Central America was first published in 1887. Born in France, Charnay (1828 1915) travelled extensively through commissions from the French government and with private patronage. He made several visits to the region between 1857 and 1886, producing in his work both a journal of his adventures and an archaeological examination of past civilisations. Beginning in Mexico, Charnay notably examines the ancient city of Tula and also the history of Yucatan, discussing aspects of Toltec and Mayan culture. He explores the ruins of Chichen Itza, Kabah and Yaxchilan (which Charnay dubbed 'Lorillard Town' after a benefactor), among many other settlements. Surveying art, pyramid architecture, ancient customs and history based on extant sources, this account was a major contribution in its field and remains of interest to scholars of Latin American archaeology.

Remembered chiefly for his archaeological discoveries in Crete, Sir Arthur John Evans (1851 1941) was also highly respected as an expert on the Balkans, an area then little known. Evans describes 'a land and people among the most interesting in Europe', and in 1875 he was visiting for the third time. This trip found him witnessing the outbreak of the revolt that saw Austria-Hungary take control of Bosnia. Here, however, Evans explores Bosnia's rich heritage with detailed ethnographic and anthropological observations, alongside descriptive impressions of its people and natural beauty. He returned in 1877 as a correspondent for the Manchester Guardian, which resulted in his Illyrian Letters (also reissued in this series). First published in 1876 and reprinted the following year, the present work offers background not only to the revolt in that country, but also to the later deadly conflicts that would shake all of Europe.

'Full of heart.' Michael Harris, author of Solitude Being alone isn't something to endure - it's something to relish. ________ The average adult spends about a third of his or her waking time alone. Yet research suggests we aren't very good at using, never mind enjoying, alone time. Rising to the challenge, travel writer Stephanie Rosenbloom explores the joys and benefits of being alone in four mouth-watering journeys to the cities of Paris, Istanbul, Florence and New York, in four seasons. This is a book about the pleasures and benefits of savouring the moment, examining things closely, using all your senses to take in your surroundings, whether travelling to faraway places or walking the streets of your own city. Through on-the-ground observations and anecdotes, and drawing on the thinking of artists, writers and innovators who have cherished solitude, Alone Time illuminates the psychological arguments for alone time and lays bare the magic of going solo.

French explorer Rene Caillie (1799-1838) was the first European to document a successful expedition to Timbuktu, Africa's elusive 'city of gold'. Europeans were not welcome there, and until Caillie's expedition no explorer had returned alive. Encouraged by the 10,000 francs offered by the Societe de Geographie to the first non-Muslim to bring back information on the city, he set out in 1824 from Senegal and eventually reached Timbuktu in 1828, remaining there for a fortnight before returning to France. His travels are recounted here in this two-volume work, first published in English in 1830. Volume 1 covers his outward journey, with detailed accounts of his travels through Saint-Louis, Kankan and other exotic waypoints, and the people, customs and commerce he encountered in the course of his trip. Vividly written, Caillie's work remains a landmark in the history of African exploration and adventure.

The surgeon, naturalist and Arctic explorer Sir John Richardson (1787 1865) was a lifelong friend to his former commander Sir John Franklin, with whom he had twice travelled to seek the North-West Passage. Following two years of silence from Franklin after he embarked on his 1845 expedition to the Arctic, Richardson set out on his own voyage in the hope of finding his comrade. Originally published in 1851, this two-volume work charts the journey which would inevitably fail in its ambition: Franklin, unknown to Richardson, had already died in June 1847. Volume 2 begins with detailed descriptions of the aboriginal Chipewyan and Cree peoples. A thorough appendix comprises observations on physical geography, climatology and the geographical distribution of plants, and includes vocabularies for the dialects encountered during the mission. The text ends, Richardson having returned, with the hope that future expeditions may yet trace 'so many gallant victims to science'.

French explorer Rene Caillie (1799-1838) was the first European to document a successful expedition to Timbuktu, Africa's elusive 'city of gold'. Europeans were not welcome there, and until Caillie's expedition no explorer had returned alive. Encouraged by the 10,000 francs offered by the Societe de Geographie to the first non-Muslim to bring back information on the city, he set out from Senegal in 1824 and eventually reached Timbuktu in 1828. His travels are recounted here in this two-volume work, first published in English in 1830. Volume 2 covers the final part of his journey to Timbuktu, where he stayed for two weeks. Including his impressions of the peoples, tribal conflict, slavery, customs and commerce, the volume concludes with an account of his journey home across the Sahara Desert, and his survival in spite of suffering from fever and fatigue. Vividly written, Caillie's work remains a landmark in the history of African exploration and adventure.

The surgeon, naturalist and Arctic explorer Sir John Richardson (1787 1865) was a lifelong friend to his former commander Sir John Franklin, with whom he had twice travelled to seek the North-West Passage. Following two years of silence from Franklin after he embarked on his 1845 expedition to the Arctic, Richardson set out on his own voyage in the hope of finding his comrade. Originally published in 1851, this two-volume work charts the journey which would inevitably fail in its ambition: Franklin, unknown to Richardson, had already died in June 1847. Volume 1, which depicts the journey to Fort Confidence in the Canadian Arctic, ends with detailed descriptions of the aboriginal Inuit and Gwich'in peoples encountered. The text is punctuated throughout by accounts of the wildlife and geographical features sighted, and the customs and cultures observed on this remarkable mission.

Written by Austrian baron Karl Alexander Anselm von Hugel (1795-1870), this travelogue was one of the first western books published on the Kashmir region. Von Hugel, who worked as a soldier, diplomat, botanist, explorer and ethnologist at various stages in his life, embarked on a trip to India in the 1830s as part of an extensive world tour. His account of his time in Kashmir and the Punjab was first published in German as a four-volume edition from 1840. He aimed to 'lift the veil' on Kashmir in an attempt to resolve the contentious reputation among Europeans of this unfamiliar region, and the book serves as a thorough guide to its history, geography, climate, culture and politics. This English translation and abridgement was prepared by Thomas Best Jervis (1796-1857) and published in 1845. Also included in this reissue is a biography that the author's son, Anatole von Hugel, privately published in 1903.

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.