Travels through Canada and the United States of North America in the Years 1806, 1807, and 1808

This 1811 book, reissued here in the 'improved' 1814 edition, is packed with fascinating anecdotes and observations on colonial society.

John Lambert (Author)

9781108033275, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 14 July 2011

550 pages, 2 colour illus.
21.6 x 14 x 3.1 cm, 0.69 kg

In the opening decades of the nineteenth century, the writings of John Lambert renewed the British public's fascination with the landscapes, peoples, flora, and fauna of the Canadian colonies and the United States. First published in 1811, and ultimately running into four editions, this two-volume work is packed with closely-observed descriptions, facts and figures about colonial life, as well as lively anecdotes. The 'corrected and improved' second edition reissued here was published in 1814, towards the end of the Napoleonic Wars. It promised to 'enable the British reader to form a just opinion of the Canadian colonies, and to appreciate the character of the neighbouring enemies who threaten their existence'. A trained painter, Lambert illustrated his account with lithographs based on his own watercolours. Volume 2 contrasts the excitement of New York, Charleston and Boston, bustling with markets, hotels and pleasure gardens, with the conditions endured by plantation slaves.

25. Journey to New York
26. Leave Skenesborough
27. Boarding-house
28. Places of worship
29. Number of deaths at New York
30. Leave New York for Charleston
31. Population of Charleston
32. Servants at Charleston
33. Legislature of South Carolina
34. Arts, sciences, and literature of South Carolina
35. Climate of South Carolina
36. Journey from Charleston to Savannah on foot
37. Savannah
38. Leave Savannah
39. Leave Charleston
40. Arrival at Boston
41. Biographical notices and anecdotes of some of the most eminent public characters in the United States
42. Leave Boston.

Subject Areas: History of the Americas [HBJK]