Customer Reviews

Victorian Travelers: & Opening Of China, 1842-1907

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"Victorian Travelers" tells the story of six British travelers to China: Robert Fortune, Archibald Little, Constance Gordon Cumming, Maj. Henry Knollys, Isabella Bird, and Mrs. Archibald Little. If you have heard of any of these forgotten people, you might enjoy reading this book.

Each of the above travelers wrote one or more books about their journeys in China. The author focuses on their opinions about what they saw and experienced and how they were influenced by their own sense of Victorian and Western superiority. This is not a heavyweight subject and, as academic books go, this one is easy reading. If like me you're fascinated by dusty old travel accounts this book might introduce you to an author you will want to read -- or give you some insights into an author you have read.

Why don't the academics put their books on the web and give everyone free access to them? I mean, hey, this book is not going to be a best seller -- and the author is not going to get rich off the royalties, even at the inflated price of academic publications. Certainly more people would read this book, albeit still very few, if it were available free of charge over the web. It seems rather silly in this day and age to waste paper printing obscure academic books when low-cost and convenient alternatives exist.

Smallchief

This is definitely a great book for learning about Sino-foreign culture in the Victorian era. I highly recommend it for class use or general reading.