The Golden Chersonese and the Way Thither

An evocative 1883 account of travels in the Malay Peninsula by Isabella Bird, the famous Victorian explorer.

Isabella Bird (Author)

9781108014731, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 30 September 2010

432 pages, 10 b/w illus. 1 map
21.6 x 14 x 2.4 cm, 0.55 kg

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.

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.

Subject Areas: Asian history [HBJF]