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The Spell Series

The Spell of the Hawaiian Islands and the Philippines

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Title: The Spell of the Hawaiian Islands and the Philippines
The Spell Series

Author: Isabel Anderson

Release Date: November 23, 2012 [EBook #41451]

Language: English

Being an Account of the Historical and Political Conditions
of Our Pacific Possessions, together with Descriptions of the
natural Charm and Beauty of the Countries and the strange and
interesting Customs of their Peoples.

154 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1916

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About the author

Isabel Anderson

112 books
Isabel Anderson was a Boston-area heiress and author who left a legacy to the public that includes a park and two museums.

Born at 284 Marlborough Street in Boston's Back Bay, on both sides of her family Isabel Weld Perkins was descended from wealthy Boston Brahmin who traced their history back to Massachusetts Bay Colony. Generations of ancestors and relatives on both sides had been educated at Harvard, had traded with the Far East, and had built stately homes in Greater Boston (especially in what is now Jamaica Plain).

Isabel's father was Commodore George H. Perkins, the commander of the USS Cayuga during the American Civil War. The commodore's father had grown rich building mills in Contoocookville, New Hampshire and running a shipping firm in Boston that did business in West Africa.

Her mother was Anna Minot Weld, a wealthy socialite born to the Weld Family of Boston. When Isabel was only five years old, she inherited $17 million from her grandfather William Fletcher Weld, reportedly making her the wealthiest woman in America.

In 1896, Perkins was a 20-year old debutante on a world tour. She made a stop in Rome and met Larz Anderson, a young Harvard-educated diplomat from an affluent and prestigious Cincinnati family.

They were married in Boston a year later and embarked on a life of luxury combined with public service and adventure. They traveled widely, making four trips around the world and throughout Europe and Asia. Anderson held a number of diplomatic posts, including a short stint as U.S. Ambassador to Japan.

Isabel wrote a number of books; those that concern her family specifically are those of the most interest to historians. She also wrote several travelogues, volumes of poetry, and many children's stories.

Her book 'Under the Black horse flag: Annals of the Weld family and some of its branches' describes the transportation empire begun by her great-grandfather William Gordon Weld and details his descendants up to the time of writing.

She also edited the papers of her American Civil War hero father-in-law and published them as The letters and journals of General Nicholas Longworth Anderson; Harvard, civil war, Washington, 1854-1892.

Among her other works are 'Circling Africa', 'On the Move', 'The Spell of Japan', 'The Spell of Belgium', 'The Spell of the Hawaiian Islands and the Philippines', 'Topsy Turvy and the Gold Star', 'Yacht in Mediterranean Seas' and 'Zigzagging the South Seas'. Most of her own personal papers are now part of the collection kept at Larz Anderson Auto Museum. Others are stored at New England Historic Genealogical Society.

During World War I, Isabel worked for the American Red Cross as a volunteer of the District of Columbia Refreshment Corps. In 1918 she received the Croix de Guerre for her contributions.

Isabel died in 1948. She is interred in the St. Mary Chapel at Washington National Cathedral with her husband Larz Anderson.

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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
Profile Image for Preili Pipar.
669 reviews20 followers
June 11, 2019
Huvitav lugemine, eriti seetõttu, et raamat on kirjutatud enne ilmasõdasid. Näiteks on kirjeldatud Pearl Harbour’it, mida me tänasel päeval teame hoopis teistel põhjustel.
Mulle isiklikult meeldis Havai osa rohkem, kuna olen neid saari külastanud. Loodetavasti satun millalgi ka Filipiinidele :)
Profile Image for Miles.
136 reviews3 followers
December 21, 2013
The Spell of the Hawaiian Islands and the Philippines The Spell Series
1916 Journalistic History - Since my family owns and operates a Restaurant in the Hawaiian Islands and I now live in the Philippine Islands this book was a natural read for me. I believe it's good to know something of the history of the places where we do business and choose to make our homes ! ! !
Profile Image for Nancy.
64 reviews2 followers
February 21, 2015
Very interesting, especially because it was written in the end of 19 thCentury. And now it is beginning of the 21st. Century! Also we were not with such a famous group, having very special treatment.
Profile Image for Jason.
111 reviews10 followers
December 10, 2012
Anderson was a Boston Brahmin, the daughter of a navy commodore and a socialite from the famous Weld family. At age five she inherited enough money from her grandfather, the shipping magnate W.F. Weld, to be declared the “wealthiest woman in the world.” She used her money to travel the world, start museums, and fund botanical projects along with her husband Larz Anderson, the one-time US Ambassador to Japan. She also wrote quite a bit, including this book about a trip in the 1910s the Andersons took to the Pacific. She carries much of the weird racial and class baggage of the time (e.g., talk of “half-breeds” and “yellow people”) and has praise for individuals like Sanford Dole for stopping Queen Liliuokalani from “turning Hawaii into a Monte Carlo,” but she is not always completely unsympathetic to native populations and Asian immigrants in the islands. In fact, she’s downright taken with Kamehameha I, who instigated “the authentic history of Hawaii” and had “real strength of character.” She seems particularly enamored with his teetotalism.

More interesting to me though were her descriptions of places that would take on new meanings just a few decades later, such as Punchbowl and Pearl Harbor, which had just been dredged for expansion when Anderson visited. She also makes a funny passing mention of Duke Kahanamoku in her section about the “most digestible and strengthening” poi. The taro dish apparently made him the Olympic champion that he was—no mention of his skills on the surfboard though.
Profile Image for Bettie.
9,973 reviews
maybe
November 26, 2012
Mount Mayon

Dedication:
I DEDICATE THIS BOOK WITH LOVE
TO THE MEMORY OF MY GRANDFATHER
WILLIAM F. WELD
WHOSE SHIPS SAILED UPON THESE
TROPICAL SEAS
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews