The Golden Chersonese and the Way Thither

by Isabella Bird

Overview

This is an evocative account, first published in 1883, of the final expedition to the East by Isabella Bird (1831-1904), who was one of the most famous Victorian female explorers, and the first woman to be admitted to the Royal Geographical Society. The Golden Chersonese is the ancient name for the Malay Peninsula, as named by the Greek geographer and astronomer Ptolemy. The book is a collection of twenty-three letters written by Bird to her ailing sister, Henny, in Scotland. Henny died as the book was published and Bird dedicates the book of letters to her memory. As well as giving detailed descriptions of her travels and adventures in and around Malaysia, the book also includes fascinating accounts of many aspects of the region, including the people, culture, landscapes and wildlife. It also contains a number of delightful illustrations and a thorough appendix.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781108014731
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	09/30/2010
Series:	Cambridge Library Collection - Travel and Exploration in Asia
Edition description:	Reissue
Pages:	432
Product dimensions:	5.51(w) x 8.50(h) x 0.94(d)

About the Author

Isabella Bird was a nineteenth century English explorer,writer,and natural historian whose extensive travels and writings earned her the first female membership of the Royal Geographical Society.In 1879 she visited Malaya, Singapore, Indo-China and Hong Kong, writing 23 letters home to her sister Hennie in Scotland, and naming the collection The Golden Chersonese, the ancient Greek name for the Malay Peninsula.

Table of Contents

Introductory chapter; 1. The steamer Volga; 2. A delightful climate; 3. The S. S. Kin Kiang; 4. 'Faithful unto Death'; 5. Portuguese missionaries; 6. A Cochin China river; 7. Beauties of the Tropics; 8. St. Andrew's Cathedral; 9. The Lieutenant-Governor of Malacca; 10. Malacca mediaevalism; 11. A Mangrove swamp; 12. The tomb of a 'great prophet'; 13. The appurtenances of civilisation; 14. The S. S. Rainbow; 15. Tiger mosquitos; 16. A yachting voyage; 17. The Dingings; 18. Province Wellesley; 19. The Chinese in Larut; 20. Novel circumstances; 21. A Malay interior; 22. A pleasant canter; 23. Gang murders; Appendix; Index.