This book of 'Persian Pictures' is the first published work of Gertrude Bell (1868 1926), the celebrated traveller, archaeologist, Orientalist and supporter of Arab independence. She first visited Persia in 1892, when a relative by marriage was British minister there, and published her impressions in a series of essays in 1894. Her subjects range from Roman ruins to Ottoman graves to shopping in the bazaars, and from the bustling life of cities to the isolation of the desert. Having studied the Persian language in preparation for her journey, she was able to enter into the life of the country, and especially of its women, more deeply than a casual visitor, and indeed her second publication was a free-verse translation of the fourteenth-century poet Hafiz. Bell captures a sense of delight at a mysterious land still marked by the traces of many of the great civilisations of the past.

Scottish-born Alexander Mackay (1808 52) spent much of his career as a journalist in North America. He was in Britain working for the Morning Chronicle when, in January 1846, he set sail again for the United States, this time to report on the debates over the Oregon question, relating to British and American claims to territory in the Pacific North-West. He spent several months in Washington, D.C. before travelling around the country as far south as the Mississippi, and west to the Great Lakes. This three-volume work, published in 1849, uses his journey to frame a general account of 'the political system, the social life, and the material progress of the Union'. Mackay observed a vibrant and prosperous country, and his work captures the energy of these boom years. Volume 2 focuses on political parties, slavery and railways, and describes Mackay's travels in Virginia, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama and Louisiana.

Scottish-born Alexander Mackay (1808 52) spent much of his career as a journalist in North America. He was in Britain working for the Morning Chronicle when, in January 1846, he set sail again for the United States, this time to report on the debates over the Oregon question, relating to British and American claims to territory in the Pacific North-West. He spent several months in Washington, D.C. before travelling around the country as far south as the Mississippi, and west to the Great Lakes. This three-volume work, published in 1849, uses his journey to frame a general account of 'the political system, the social life, and the material progress of the Union'. Mackay observed a vibrant and prosperous country, and his work captures the energy of these boom years. In Volume 1, Mackay describes New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington, and explains American society and the political and judiciary systems.

'If modern Egypt is so far away that it takes three weeks to get there, ancient Egypt is infinitely more distant.' So wrote novelist, journalist, traveller and Egyptologist Amelia Edwards (1831-92) in this, the last published work of her career. Having first travelled to Egypt in 1873, in 1889-90 Edwards was invited to lecture in the United States, campaigning for the Egypt Exploration Fund, of which she was joint honorary secretary. In five months she addressed 100,000 people at over 110 meetings in sixteen states. First published in 1892, a month before her death, this book is a collection of her lectures, containing substantial illustrations, additions, notes, and references. Exhibiting both Edwards' ability to make abstruse subjects come alive without losing factual correctness, and the humour and enthusiasm with which she recounted her experiences, this book marks the culmination of twenty years' research and exploration.

The adventurous and unconventional Lady Hester Stanhope (1776-1839) set off to travel to the East in the early nineteenth century. She had been hostess to her uncle, British Prime Minister William Pitt the Younger, and after his death she received a government pension and decided to leave England. Her personal physician Charles Meryon (1783-1877) wrote this three-volume memoir of their travels, first published in 1846. She had a reputation as an eccentric, but thought of herself as the 'Queen of the desert' and indeed achieved considerable influence in the places she travelled to. Eventually she settled in the Lebanon, where she lived out the remainder of her life. Volume 3 includes Lady Hester's failed attempt to find hidden treasure among the ruins of Ascalon, and details of her actions after a French traveller was killed in the desert and she ordered the punishment of the offenders.

The adventurous and unconventional Lady Hester Stanhope (1776-1839) set off to travel to the East in the early nineteenth century. She had been hostess to her uncle, British Prime Minister William Pitt the Younger, and after his death she received a government pension and decided to leave England. Her personal physician Charles Meryon (1783-1877) wrote this three-volume memoir of their travels, first published in 1846. She had a reputation as an eccentric, but thought of herself as the 'Queen of the desert' and indeed achieved considerable influence in the places she travelled to. Eventually she settled in the Lebanon, where she lived out the remainder of her life. Volume 1 describes travels in Greece, Egypt, Palestine and Syria, and an account of being shipwrecked near Rhodes. It concludes with the party's arrival in Damascus, where Lady Hester dressed in men's clothing and refused to wear a veil.

James Silk Buckingham (1786-1855) was a writer who travelled extensively and published accounts of his adventures in places such as India, Persia, Egypt, and Palestine. He first went to sea as a boy, and, aged only ten, spent a period as a prisoner-of-war in Spain. He was expelled from India in 1823 for criticising the East India Company and the Bengal government. Back in London, he was a supporter of reform, and served as the first M.P. for the new constituency of Sheffield, from 1832 to 1837. He founded several journals, including The Athenaeum. On retiring from Parliament, he left for North America, where he spent nearly four years, and was highly critical of America's economic dependence on slavery. His autobiography was cut short by his death. Volume 1 covers his early life and travels until 1812, mostly in the Mediterranean but also to the West Indies and America.

The Scottish twin sisters Agnes Lewis (1843 1926) and Margaret Gibson (1843 1920) between them spoke modern Greek, Arabic, Hebrew, Persian and Syriac, and were pioneering biblical scholars and explorers at a time when women rarely ventured to foreign lands. The sisters made several journeys to the Monastery of St Catherine on Mount Sinai, discovering ancient biblical manuscripts, and their first two visits there were described in the 1893 publication How the Codex was Found (also available in this series). Lewis' In the Shadow of Sinai of 1898 was composed as a sequel to this work, dealing with the third and fourth journeys to Sinai, in 1895 and 1897. She gives a vivid account of the practicalities of desert travelling, as well as the excitement of the sisters and their academic colleagues as they recognised the significance of their discoveries in the monastic library.

First published in 1872, this memoir recounts the extraordinary life of Sir Henry Holland (1788-1873), physician, and travel writer. Holland's first voyage abroad was a four-month trip to Iceland in 1810, and he went on to traverse much of the globe by boat, on horseback, and on foot. He journeyed through Europe during the Napoleonic Wars, survived earthquakes and other disasters, and was arrested three times during his travels. Holland was also well known as a society doctor in London, and this work also includes numerous references to the eminent people Holland treated in a medical capacity. He was medical attendant to Queen Caroline, wife of George IV, and was appointed physician-extraordinary to Queen Victoria in 1837. He also treated six British prime ministers. Originally written for his friends and children and printed privately, the book was revised and expanded for publication the year before Holland died.

This four-volume edition of the Arabic text of the Journey of the Moroccan traveller Ibn Battuta (1304-68/9), with a French translation, was published in 1853-8 as part of the 'Collection d'ouvrages orientaux' of the French Societe Asiatique. In 1325, Ibn Battuta, who came from a family of Islamic jurists in Tangier, set out to make the pilgrimage to Mecca - the beginning of a journey that would last for twenty-four years and take him as far as China. In Volume 1, he describes his departure from Tangier, and his journey via Tunis to Egypt, where he travelled to Cairo, planning to reach a Red Sea port and sail to Arabia. The route was closed, so he returned to Cairo and travelled from there to Damascus, taking in the holy places of Palestine en route. Having finally reached Medina and Mecca, he decided to travel on, to Najaf (in present-day Iraq).

This four-volume edition of the Arabic text of the Journey of the Moroccan traveller Ibn Battuta (1304-68/9), with a French translation, was published in 1853-8. In 1325, Ibn Battuta, who came from a family of Islamic jurists in Tangier, set out to make the pilgrimage to Mecca - the beginning of a journey that would last for twenty-four years and take him as far as China. In Volume 2, he leaves Najaf and heads for Persia, exploring Isfahan and Shiraz before returning to Baghdad. Next he goes north, as far as modern Turkey, before performing a second pilgrimage to Mecca. From Jeddah, he sails to Yemen and down the coast of Africa as far as modern-day Tanzania. After a third visit to Mecca he heads north as far as the Crimea and Astrakhan, whence he travels to Constantinople in the retinue of a Byzantine princess, before heading east again.

Scottish-born Alexander Mackay (1808 52) spent much of his career as a journalist in North America. He was in Britain working for the Morning Chronicle when, in January 1846, he set sail again for the United States, this time to report on the debates over the Oregon question, relating to British and American claims to territory in the Pacific North-West. He spent several months in Washington, D.C. before travelling around the country as far south as the Mississippi, and west to the Great Lakes. This three-volume work, published in 1849, uses his journey to frame a general account of 'the political system, the social life, and the material progress of the Union'. Mackay observed a vibrant and prosperous country, and his work captures the energy of these boom years. Volume 3 focuses on the Great Lakes region, mining and navigation, and discusses education, religion, and the 'American character'.

This four-volume edition of the Arabic text of the Journey of the Moroccan traveller Ibn Battuta (1304-68/9), with a French translation was published in 1853-8. In 1325, Ibn Battuta, who came from a family of jurists in Tangier, set out to make the pilgrimage to Mecca - the beginning of a journey that would last for twenty-four years and take him as far as China. In Volume 4, the sultan of Delhi asks Ibn Battuta to lead an embassy to China, during which he suffers difficulties, including attacks by Hindus, and shipwreck. He eventually reaches China via Sri Lanka, Vietnam and the Philippines; he then performs a fourth hajj before returning home, after twenty-four years' absence. He sets out again, to visit first Muslim Spain and then further regions of Africa, as far south as Timbuktu and down the river Niger, before returning home to dictate an account of his travels.

This two-volume English translation of part of a longer travel narrative by the Ottoman aristocrat Evliya Celebi (1611-c.1680) was translated by the Austrian scholar Joseph von Hammer (1774-1856) and published in 1834 by the Oriental Translation Fund of Great Britain and Ireland, set up to make 'Eastern' texts more widely available in English. Celebi was highly educated, had served the Ottoman court both as a diplomat and as a soldier, and as he says, had in his travels 'seen the countries of eighteen monarchs and heard 147 different languages'. His lifetime encompassed the highest point of Ottoman expansion into Europe, and his indefatigable curiosity about everything he saw makes this work a fascinating assemblage of topics varying from the fountains of Istanbul to a journey to Georgia. Volume 1 includes a short biography of Celebi and accounts of the history and architecture of his native city.

Captain Basil Hall (1788 1844) was a Scottish seaman and travel writer. After attending the Royal High School in Edinburgh he joined the Navy in 1802, and was appointed captain in 1814. He served on many diplomatic and scientific naval missions, and on his retirement from the Navy began to publish accounts of his experiences, based on his journals. These volumes, first published in 1829, contain his detailed and controversial account of his journey across America and Canada between 1827 and 1828. Hall provides a fascinating and engaging description of social conditions, political structures and political tensions in Canada and America in the period, while also illustrating contemporary English prejudices concerning American society. Volume 2 contains his descriptions of New England, including Boston and Harvard University, with an analysis of mutual English and American misunderstandings of each others' societies and a discussion of the role of women in American society.

Sir Henry Morton Stanley (1841-1904) was a journalist and explorer renowned for his adventures in Africa. After emigrating to America in 1859, Stanley worked as a journalist for the New York Herald. In 1869 he was instructed to undertake an expedition to find the missionary David Livingstone, and the success of this mission brought him public recognition and financial success. Published in 1895, these two volumes contain Stanley's early journalistic writing as special correspondent for the Herald and the Missouri Democrat. Stanley's reports in Volume 1 cover General Hancock's military expedition against the Cheyenne and the Sioux peoples in Kansas and Nebraska, and the subsequent peace conferences between General Sherman and the Plains Indians. He paints a vivid picture of life in 1867 in this area of the United States through in-depth descriptions of the customs and living conditions of the native Indians, geographical features and military confrontations.

In 1804 when W. B. Stevenson (fl. 1803 1825) arrived on the small island of Mocha, just off the coast of South America, he stepped onto a continent on the brink of mass revolution. Over the next twenty years, he had an extraordinary range of experiences: as a traveller, a Spanish government official, a prisoner, and as secretary to an ex-Royal Navy admiral turned revolutionary. In this three-volume work, published in 1825, Stevenson gives a dramatic, fascinating account of life and society in South America as it began to break free from Spanish colonial rule. Volume 2 continues Stevenson's description of the culture and customs of Chile, Colombia and Peru. It also covers Stevenson's arrival in the province of Esmeraldas, where he became governor in 1810.

In 1804 when W. B. Stevenson (fl. 1803 1825) arrived on the small island of Mocha, just off the coast of South America, he stepped onto a continent on the brink of mass revolution. Over the next twenty years, he had an extraordinary range of experiences: as a traveller, a Spanish government official, a prisoner, and as secretary to an ex-Royal Navy admiral turned revolutionary. In this three-volume work, published in 1825, Stevenson gives a dramatic, fascinating account of life and society in South America as it began to break free from Spanish colonial rule. Volume 3 focuses on the revolutions and uprisings Stevenson witnessed in Colombia, Peru and Chile, as well as his time as secretary to Lord Cochrane, the former admiral who fought on the side of the rebels.

Sketches of Persia, although published anonymously in 1827, is attributed to Sir John Malcolm (1769 1833). Malcolm was a diplomat and administrator in India: arriving at the age of fourteen in 1783 to work for the East India Company, he was known during his long career as 'Boy' Malcolm. He swiftly moved into more political and diplomatic roles. He became fluent in Persian and was despatched to Persia for part of his career, though he would eventually return to India and become Governor of Bombay (1827 1830). Volume 2 begins on the edge of the desert in Cashan and ends in Sennah. Along the way, Malcolm observes Persian life and customs, and describes his many encounters, which give a vivid picture of society in Persia during this period, including a magnificent reception at court in Tehran where he meets the king, who is dripping with jewels 'of an extraordinary size'.

One of the most renowned nineteenth-century British explorers of Africa, David Livingstone (1813 73) was a medical missionary who received the Royal Geographical Society gold medal in 1855. His fame was established by his 1853 6 coast-to-coast exploration of the African interior, and by the best-selling Missionary Travels and Researches in South Africa, published upon his return to England in 1857 (also reissued in this series). Livingstone's last expedition in search of 'the true source of the Nile', undertaken in 1866, forms the core of this two-volume travel diary, published posthumously in 1874. Volume 1 describes his illness-plagued journey from Zanzibar to Ujiji, in Western Tanzania. It also records his 1871 encounter with the New York Herald correspondent and explorer Henry Morton Stanley, who had been dispatched to find him after Livingstone had been cut off from the outside world for so long that he was presumed dead.

One of the most renowned nineteenth-century British explorers of Africa, David Livingstone (1813 73) was a medical missionary who received the Royal Geographical Society gold medal in 1855. His fame was established by his 1853 6 coast-to-coast exploration of the African interior, and by the best-selling Missionary Travels and Researches in South Africa, published upon his return to England in 1857 (also reissued in this series). Livingstone's last expedition in search of 'the true source of the Nile', undertaken in 1866, forms the core of this two-volume travel diary, published posthumously in 1874. Volume 2 describes the last two years of his life, when, after his meeting with the journalist Henry Morton Stanley in 1871, Livingstone insisted on staying in Africa despite his poor health. It includes details about his death and the journey to bring his body back to the British authorities, reported by Livingstone's attendants Chuma and Susi.

Captain Basil Hall (1788 1844) was a Scottish seaman and travel writer. After attending the Royal High School in Edinburgh he joined the Navy in 1802, and was appointed captain in 1814. He served on many diplomatic and scientific naval missions, and on his retirement from the Navy began to publish accounts of his experiences, based on his journals. These volumes, first published in 1829, contain his detailed and controversial account of his journey across America and Canada between 1827 and 1828. Hall provides a fascinating and engaging description of social conditions, political structures and political tensions in Canada and America in the period, while also illustrating contemporary English prejudices concerning American society. Volume 3 contains his description of Washington D.C. and his journeys through South Carolina, Georgia, Kentucky, Alabama and along the Mississippi river. Hall also includes an analysis of slavery and cotton farming in the southern states.

Sir John Barrow (1764-1848) was a distinguished British government servant whose diplomatic career took him to China and Africa, and who in forty years as Secretary to the Admiralty was responsible for promoting Arctic and Antarctic exploration, including the voyages of Sir John Ross, Sir William Parry, Sir James Clark Ross and Sir John Franklin. This account of his time in Southern Africa was published in 1801, with a second volume following in 1804. Barrow's exploration of the Cape Colony in 1797-8 coincided with the imposition of British control in 1795 on a former Dutch colony, making this work an important source about this transitional period. Volume 2 takes a political focus, and elaborates Barrow's belief that the Cape of Good Hope could serve the commercial interests of the growing British empire in the east; he also discusses the strategic advantages of stationing troops along the Cape.

The British explorer Sir Richard F. Burton (1821-90) was a colourful and often controversial character. A talented linguist and keen ethnologist, he worked in India during the 1840s as an interpreter and intelligence officer for General Sir Charles Napier, and published several books about his experiences in 1851-2. He first gained celebrity, however, for his adventurous 1853 trip to Mecca, under the disguise of a pilgrim, which is described in this lively three-volume publication (1855-6). Few Europeans had ever visited the Muslim holy places; one of them was John Lewis Burckhardt, whose 1829 account is also reissued in this series. Volume 3 of Burton's book vividly describes the pilgrims' journey from Medina to Mecca, with catering including coffee, rice and 'occasionally ... tough mutton and indigestible goat', crowded camp-sites and all-night prayers and singing. Finally he arrives at the Kaabah and witnesses the culminating ceremonies of the hajj.

Cornish-born writer, traveller and controversialist James Silk Buckingham (1786 1855) spent much of his early life as a sailor in the Atlantic and the Mediterranean and went on to publish accounts of his extensive travels to India, Palestine and Persia. His criticisms of the East India Company and the Bengal government led to his expulsion from India in 1823. In the 1830s he became a Member of Parliament and campaigned for social reforms and for the promotion of the temperance movement. He founded several journals, including the periodical The Athenaeum, covering a wide range of topics from literature to popular science. This illustrated two-volume work, published in 1827, recounts Buckingham's journey through Mesopotamia, giving descriptions of its ancient sites and opinions of its modern inhabitants. In Volume 2, Buckingham continues his travels through Mesopotamia, from Sinjar in the north-west of the region to the city of Baghdad.