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Through Siberia
This is a reproduction of a book published before 1923. This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book.
- GenresTravel
404 pages, Hardcover
First published September 12, 2013
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November 15, 2017
bars and Bibles
About 21 years ago I came across this book at a local library sale. It had rested upon a shelf in our town for at least 90 years, maybe longer. It had not been beloved of the public and duly came into my possession. I too was in no hurry to read it and wasn't aware of the contents. So it happens that I got around to reading Henry Lansdell's book, some 131 years after it first appeared. Talk about a snail's pace ! You will probably have a hard time locating a copy of THROUGH SIBERIA. I myself only managed to purchase Volume 1, so my review is based purely on that. Volume 2 must remain terra incognita for me. But if you should find the book, and if you like interesting or odd books of travel, this one will certainly fill the bill. Lansdell, an English clergyman, had developed the habit of touring Europe, handing out Bibles and religious tracts in prisons, hospitals, monasteries, and almost anywhere he could find willing recipients. I suspect he liked travelling and this was a `kosher' (if I may be so bold) mode of combining his pleasures with his duties. Having been to European Russia and realized the scope for Bible distribution, he decided to expand his horizons and penetrate---"bible-istically" of course---the depths of Siberia. Eventually, but not in Volume 1, he reached Vladivostok, crossed to Japan and returned home around the world. What we have here is the (most detailed) record of his expedition across Siberia in 1879, visiting almost every prison he could find. He was accompanied by a couple of cartloads of religious literature, which he handed out liberally, as well as a "Mr. Interpreter" whom we never get to know. Amazingly, the Czarist officials allowed him access to every town and city, to every institution which he asked to visit. (Perhaps they felt that given the extremely low literacy rate among citizens of Russia, not to mention prisoners, he couldn't do much damage!) Russian bureaucrats wrote him numerous letters of introduction and gave him privileged access to post horses and stage inns. Lansdell himself knew no Russian, but he turns out to have been a keen observer and a thorough taker of notes. The book is full of the landscapes, the weather reports, the industry and agriculture, the population and prison statistics, the fauna and flora, the burning of Irkutsk in an accidental fire, and the customs, dress, and houses of both Russians and aboriginal inhabitants of the places through which he passed.
Henry Lansdell may be taken as a paragon of nineteenth century England---interested in everything scientific, with an explorative, inquisitive mind, devoted to God, determined on good works, patriotic, and very sure of himself. He also seems to have been a very reasonable man. How much modern interest there is in the price of meat, fish, flour or potatoes in Irkutsk or Krasnoyarsk circa 1879 is another question, especially since few of us know what these things cost in England at the same time. He describes his visit to a gold mine, he writes of Russian Orthodox Church organization and perhaps a lot more about Siberian prisons than you need. One of the best features of my copy, though, is a large number of engravings produced from the author's photographs, as well as a few actual photographs and a good map.
All in all, this Victorian travel book is full of fixed assumptions about the nature of man and what constitutes `proper' living, avoiding anything salacious, but unlike many such works, not critical of much. He liberarlly praises whatever good he found, often contrasting England unfavorably with Russia. THROUGH SIBERIA not only takes you to a remote place, but to another age of our own civilization. Russia and Siberia changed vastly in those 131 years, but then, so did we.
About 21 years ago I came across this book at a local library sale. It had rested upon a shelf in our town for at least 90 years, maybe longer. It had not been beloved of the public and duly came into my possession. I too was in no hurry to read it and wasn't aware of the contents. So it happens that I got around to reading Henry Lansdell's book, some 131 years after it first appeared. Talk about a snail's pace ! You will probably have a hard time locating a copy of THROUGH SIBERIA. I myself only managed to purchase Volume 1, so my review is based purely on that. Volume 2 must remain terra incognita for me. But if you should find the book, and if you like interesting or odd books of travel, this one will certainly fill the bill. Lansdell, an English clergyman, had developed the habit of touring Europe, handing out Bibles and religious tracts in prisons, hospitals, monasteries, and almost anywhere he could find willing recipients. I suspect he liked travelling and this was a `kosher' (if I may be so bold) mode of combining his pleasures with his duties. Having been to European Russia and realized the scope for Bible distribution, he decided to expand his horizons and penetrate---"bible-istically" of course---the depths of Siberia. Eventually, but not in Volume 1, he reached Vladivostok, crossed to Japan and returned home around the world. What we have here is the (most detailed) record of his expedition across Siberia in 1879, visiting almost every prison he could find. He was accompanied by a couple of cartloads of religious literature, which he handed out liberally, as well as a "Mr. Interpreter" whom we never get to know. Amazingly, the Czarist officials allowed him access to every town and city, to every institution which he asked to visit. (Perhaps they felt that given the extremely low literacy rate among citizens of Russia, not to mention prisoners, he couldn't do much damage!) Russian bureaucrats wrote him numerous letters of introduction and gave him privileged access to post horses and stage inns. Lansdell himself knew no Russian, but he turns out to have been a keen observer and a thorough taker of notes. The book is full of the landscapes, the weather reports, the industry and agriculture, the population and prison statistics, the fauna and flora, the burning of Irkutsk in an accidental fire, and the customs, dress, and houses of both Russians and aboriginal inhabitants of the places through which he passed.
Henry Lansdell may be taken as a paragon of nineteenth century England---interested in everything scientific, with an explorative, inquisitive mind, devoted to God, determined on good works, patriotic, and very sure of himself. He also seems to have been a very reasonable man. How much modern interest there is in the price of meat, fish, flour or potatoes in Irkutsk or Krasnoyarsk circa 1879 is another question, especially since few of us know what these things cost in England at the same time. He describes his visit to a gold mine, he writes of Russian Orthodox Church organization and perhaps a lot more about Siberian prisons than you need. One of the best features of my copy, though, is a large number of engravings produced from the author's photographs, as well as a few actual photographs and a good map.
All in all, this Victorian travel book is full of fixed assumptions about the nature of man and what constitutes `proper' living, avoiding anything salacious, but unlike many such works, not critical of much. He liberarlly praises whatever good he found, often contrasting England unfavorably with Russia. THROUGH SIBERIA not only takes you to a remote place, but to another age of our own civilization. Russia and Siberia changed vastly in those 131 years, but then, so did we.
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