Author: KINGSLEY, MARY HENRIETTA:
Title: Travels in West Africa. Congo Français, Corisco and Cameroons. London, Macmillan, 1897.
Description: . Pp. xvi, 744, adv.(8). With sixteen halftones, two lithographed fish plates and many textual illustrations. Publisher's cloth, gilt lettering on spine, extremities rubbed. Old ownership's signature on half title. Partly with some minor staining. First edition of Kingsley's first adventurous journey.Mary Kingsley (1862-1900) spent her first thirty years at home caring for her parents. She read most of her father's library and inherited his passion for travel. After the parent's death, she travelled twice to West Africa to study tribal religions and collect natural history specimens. The first journey in 1893 took her to the Fjort tribe on the Congo, then north through the Congo Free State to French territory and to the British Old Calabar. She returned to England with a valuable natural history collection. Her two travel accounts, written with a great sense of humour, became instant bestsellers. In 1900 she died at Simonstown where she had volunteered for nursing service in the South African War. Robinson p. 136-8. Middleton, Victorian lady travellers, pp. 149-176.

Keywords: Africa, west africa, africa, african, afrika, afrique, afrika, travel, voyage, exploration, explore, natural history, lady traveller


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