Böcker i Cambridge Library Collection - Travel, Europe-serien

Marguerite Gardiner, Countess of Blessington (1789-1849), was famous for her charm and wit, which are reflected in this three-volume travel narrative, first published in 1839-40. The work contains vivid pictures of Italian cities, and Blessington also reminisces about meetings with Lord Byron, who became a close friend.

Sir Henry Holland (1788-1873) was a passionate and intrepid traveller from a young age. In addition to a distinguished career as court physician - first to Caroline of Brunswick, then to Queen Victoria and Prince Albert - he sought to keep two months of each year free to travel. His trip to Greece formed part of a European tour that Holland undertook in 1812-13 after having taken his medical degree at Edinburgh. Holland focuses on the lesser-known islands and parts of Macedonia and Albania, and gives a unique first-hand account of the Albanian vizier Ali Pasha (1740-1822), whom he befriended while visiting his court. The publication of Holland's travelogue in 1815 enhanced his reputation greatly and he was elected Fellow of the Royal Society that year. The book contributed to the early nineteenth-century fascination with Greece that would later lead Lord Byron to join the Greek War of Independence.

The nineteenth century saw an influx of British travellers to Iceland, drawn by growing interest in its saga literature or by the potential for scientific discovery offered by its volcanic and glacial landscapes. Charles Stuart Forbes (1829-76), an officer in the Royal Navy, was one of these adventurers. In this work, first published in 1860, he gives a vivid and detailed account of his journeys across the island, conveying his wonder at its natural phenomena and sharing his observations on its history, culture and way of life. A fervent supporter of Garibaldi, Forbes went on to publish in 1861 The Campaign of Garibaldi in the Two Sicilies (also reissued in this series). While making little reference here to the growing movement for independence from Denmark, the present work, written with colour and wit, remains an engaging source of information on Iceland.

Remembered chiefly for his archaeological discoveries in Crete, Sir Arthur John Evans (1851-1941) was also highly respected as an expert on the Balkans, an area then little known. Evans describes 'a land and people among the most interesting in Europe', and in 1875 he was visiting for the third time. This trip found him witnessing the outbreak of the revolt that saw Austria-Hungary take control of Bosnia. Here, however, Evans explores Bosnia's rich heritage with detailed ethnographic and anthropological observations, alongside descriptive impressions of its people and natural beauty. He returned in 1877 as a correspondent for the Manchester Guardian, which resulted in his Illyrian Letters (also reissued in this series). First published in 1876 and reprinted the following year, the present work offers background not only to the revolt in that country, but also to the later deadly conflicts that would shake all of Europe.

Isabel J. Armstrong (born c.1848) and her travelling companion Edith Payne were part of an increasing cohort of determined women entering territory deemed unsuitable for ladies: travel. Women such as Isabella Bird (whose work is also available in this series) and Mary Kingsley had defied social convention in order to explore the world around them. Their independence of spirit and thirst for knowledge made them inspirational role models. Little is known of Armstrong and Payne other than what is recorded in this engaging account of their Greek adventures, about which 'the general opinion seemed to be that we were going out to be murdered'. First published in 1893, the book depicts a country whose traditions and way of life were in danger of being swept away by the advance of modern technology. Incorporating vivid descriptions of Piraeus, Olympia, Thessaly and the monasteries of Meteora, the narrative is charmingly illustrated with Armstrong's own sketches.

This short book derives from an article published in the periodical Vacation Tourists and Notes of Travel, edited by Francis Galton, in 1860. W. G. Clark (1821-78) was most famous as co-editor of the Cambridge Shakespeare, but was originally a classical scholar, whose Peloponnesus (1858) is also reissued in this series. This lively account of a critical period in Italian history, 'during the occurrence of events so strange and sudden that they resembled incidents of a romantic melodrama rather than real history', deliberately avoids the usual landscapes, ruins and peasants to give a day-by-day description of events in Naples at the time when Garibaldi had arrived in the city during his campaign for the liberation of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies. However, as well as narrating political and military developments, Clark introduces some picturesque notes, including an account of the famous 'miracle' of the liquefaction of St Gennaro's blood.

Mariana Starke (1762-1838) was an ideal travel guide: she lived and travelled in Italy for much of the 1790s and had a truly practical mind, predicting perfectly what a traveller might need to know about both the journey and the destination. Travels on the Continent, first published in 1820, was partly based on her earlier bestseller Travels in Italy (also reissued in this series) but featured completely updated information based on extensive research during the late 1810s. Noting the latest improvements in transport and accommodation, which had both become more comfortable in Europe during the previous thirty years, the guide covers most of mainland Europe. For each popular route Starke offers itineraries and journey times, as well as recommendations for sightseeing and the best inns. In particular, she offers advice to the many travellers of the time who sought to improve their health through a change of climate.

Journalist, children's author and translator, Matilda Betham-Edwards inspired a generation of writers. A correspondent of Henry James and a friend of George Eliot, she belonged to a literary network that spanned the globe. Published in 1868, her account of her journey to the Sahara received immediate critical acclaim for its graceful prose and intelligent insights. Leading readers through the Dordogne to Madrid and on to the mosques and malaria of North Africa, Edwards introduces her audience to relics, landscapes and ancient edifices that reflect a wide spectrum of religions and societies. A farmer's daughter, she pays special attention to the living and working conditions of agricultural communities and their struggle for survival in nineteenth-century Europe. As one reviewer for the Examiner explained, 'stay at home readers can hardly do their travelling by proxy more easily than by running through her entertaining pages'.

Mary Wollstonecraft (1759-1797) published this book, the last before her death in childbirth, in 1796. The twenty-five letters are an account of a daring wartime trip to Scandinavia to attempt to retrieve a stolen ship for her lover, the American adventurer Gilbert Imlay. Her letters describe the people and culture she encountered, as well as the beautiful natural surroundings she observed. But in addition to a travelogue these letters include political reflections on controversial topics such as prison reform, as well as revealing a very personal story of inner turmoil and dislocation. Wollstonecraft's letters were written at a difficult period in her life - she had recently attempted suicide - and their themes and emotional content influenced the Romantic poets of the following generation, even though the book's initial popularity waned after her death. For more information on this author, see http://orlando.cambridge.org/public/svPeople?person_id=wollma

Described by George Eliot as 'the only English woman that possesses thoroughly the art of writing', Harriet Martineau held a prominent position in the intellectual life of Victorian culture. This 1854 guide to Windermere was the first in her series of guides to the Lake District, leading eventually to her hugely successful Complete Guide to the English Lakes. In this Guide, Martineau engages with the emerging industry of literary tourism, and describes why the thriving village of Windermere warranted a 'new guide book'. She appreciatively details the natural features of the district and its architecture, and presents accounts of scenic walks and day tours to the neighbouring lakes, combining practical information with literary passages of description. An outstanding woman of her time, Martineau followed in Wordsworth's footsteps by fusing her identity with the local landscape of the Lake District, continuing its rich literary associations.

Sir John Gardner Wilkinson (1797-1875) pioneered modern Egyptology and travelled widely during his life. In 1844, he gathered important historical and contemporary material as he toured little-known regions of the Adriatic coast. First published in 1848, this two-volume account of his travels is accompanied by many remarkable illustrations.

The radical writer and poet Helen Maria Williams (1759-1827) is best remembered for her eight-volume Letters from France (1790-6). First published in 1798, this two-volume political travelogue covers the journeys she made in Switzerland with John Hurford Stone following her flight from France in 1794.

First published in English in 1861, during the golden age of alpinism and travel writing, this work by Hermann Alexander Berlepsch (1814?-83) was translated from German by Leslie Stephen (1832-1904), a renowned British mountaineer in his day. The book is a scientific and cultural guidebook to the Alps.

In this 1842 work, the artist and zoologist George French Angas (1822-86) blends antiquarian notes on temples and castles with picturesque descriptions of natural history. Incorporating fourteen illustrations, this book displays the charm and diversity that defines the best nineteenth-century travel writing.

Published in 1895, this book documents William Conway's celebrated 65-day journey across the European Alps in 1894. Accompanied by two Gurkha soldiers, Conway climbed twenty-one peaks, including Mont Blanc, the Jungfrau and Grossglockner, and traversed thirty-nine mountain passes.

The American zoologist, physiologist and naturalist Samuel Kneeland (1821-88) published this account of his travels through the Scottish islands and to Iceland in 1876. It shows the breadth of his interests, from the Norse origins and history of the Icelanders to volcanoes, their geological causes, and their flora and fauna.

Mariana Starke's Travels in Italy (1802) is one of the best-loved travel guides of the nineteenth century. Volume 1 gives a detailed account of the political situation after Napoleon's first Italian campaigns and offers practical guidance for tourists visiting the major cultural sites and artistic treasures of the country.

Marguerite Gardiner, Countess of Blessington (1789-1849), was famous for her charm and wit, which are reflected in this three-volume travel narrative, first published in 1839-40. Volume 1 contains anecdotes from France and Switzerland and ends with the author's encounter with Lord Byron in Genoa.

The social world of 'dandy' Thomas Raikes (1777-1848) included some of the most influential people of his day. Raikes was best known for his diaries, extracts from which were published in four volumes from 1856 to 1857. Volume 1 covers 1832-4, encompassing the Reform Act and Irish unrest.

Targeted at both travellers and 'readers at home', Richard Ford's 1845 account of Spanish history, topography and culture combines the rigour of a gazetteer with the humour and pace of a private travel diary. Volume 1 leads the reader from Cadiz in Andalucia to Granada and on to Catalonia.

The writer, satirist and poet Lady Mary Wortley Montagu had an inexhaustible appetite for travel and society. This third edition of her Letters and Works (1866), offers valuable insight into the ambitions and frustrations of one of the most unconventional women of the eighteenth century.

A rare first-hand Victorian account of this little-known region, published in 1888 when it was part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. In a highly engaging, anecdotal style, novelist Emily Gerard combines her personal recollections of with a detailed account of the landscape, people, superstitions and customs.

The romantic novelist Elizabeth Strutt (1783-c.1863) published this guidebook for the unaccompanied 'lady traveller' in 1828. Strutt's carefully-observed account of an eventful journey provides an unusual perspective both on European customs and society of her time, and on the mindset of the British travellers who witnessed them.

Hester Piozzi's 1789 Observations of her travels around Europe with her second husband is a witty and fascinating account, full of conversational anecdotes and local colour, which today make it a valuable work of social history, as well as the entertaining travel book that it was originally intended to be.

In the late 1830s Elizabeth Rigby (1809-1893) travelled alone from London to the Baltic States via Denmark and Russia; a remarkable undertaking for a single woman in the first half of the nineteenth century. Her collection of letters focusing on life in Estonia particularly was published in 1841.

The writer and translator Anne Plumptre (1760-1818) published this three-volume description of three years' residence in France in 1810. Volume 1 describes her stay in Paris (where she was accidentally locked in the ruins of the Bastille at nightfall), and her journey to Marseilles via Lyons.

Robert Pashley (1805-59) was a Trinity College, Cambridge Travelling Fellow who spent 1834 exploring the island of Crete, which was then under Egyptian administration, and published this two-volume account in 1837. Volume 1 discusses his arrival in Chania and the tensions between Christians and Muslims.

Lady Georgiana Chatterton (1806-1876) was a respected and prolific British romantic novelist and travel writer. These volumes, first published in 1839, contain Lady Chatterton's detailed accounts of various excursions she undertook in the south of Ireland. Volume 1 contains her excursions to Bantry and Killarney.

This two-volume Autobiography by Cornelia Knight (1757-1837), Lady Companion to Princess Charlotte, was compiled by Sir John Kaye and published in 1861. Volume 1 describes her childhood, time spent in Italy with Sir William and Lady Hamilton, and the events which led to Knight's dismissal by the Prince Regent.

John Davy (1790-1868) spent years as an army surgeon, and was stationed in the Mediterranean from 1824 to 1835. He took detailed notes on his surroundings, later published in this two-volume 1842 work. Volume 1 examines the history, geology, and climate of the Ionian Islands and Malta.