A Voyage Round the World, in the Gorgon Man of War; Captain John Parker

The fascinating memoir of an Englishwoman's voyage to the far side of the globe, at the height of European imperialism.

Mary Ann Parker (Author)

9781108018883, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 9 September 2010

186 pages
21.6 x 14 x 1.1 cm, 0.24 kg

In 1791, Mary Ann Parker accompanied her husband, Captain John Parker, on a voyage to deliver supplies to New South Wales. A Voyage Round the World, in the Gorgon Man of War (1795) records their travels past the Cape of Good Hope to New South Wales and back, offering valuable insights into late eighteenth-century colonialism, trade, and slavery, as well as the social worlds of Europeans who made careers in the business of empire. Written on subscription following the death of her husband, Parker's travelogue also offers poignant witness to the conditions for women's authorship at the close of the eighteenth century. As she assures her readers, 'nothing but the greatest distress could ever have induced her to solicit beneficence in the manner she has done, for the advantage of her family'. Engaging and observant, Parker's book is an important addition to the canon of early women's travel writing.

Preface
List of subscribers
1. Reasons for undertaking the voyage
2. Ceremony of crossing the equator
3. Set off for Cape Town
4. Visit Colonel Gordon
5. The voyage continued
6. Arrive at Port Jackson
7. Governor Phillip breakfasts on-board
8. Description of the inhabitants of New South Wales
9. Preparations for our departure
10. The voyage continued
11. Arrive at Table-Bay
12. Some account of Cape Town.

Subject Areas: Literary studies: general [DSB]