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The Golden Chersonese and the Way Thither
In presenting to the public the last installment of my travels in the Far East, in 1879, I desire to offer, both to my readers and critics, my grateful acknowledgments for the kindness with which my letters from Japan were received, and to ask for an equally kind and lenient estimate of my present volume, which has been prepared for publication under the heavy shadow of the loss of the beloved and only sister to whom the letters of which it consists were written, and whose able and careful criticism, as well as loving interest, accompanied my former volumes through the press.
344 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1883
18 people are currently reading
223 people want to read
About the author
Isabella Lucy Bird
123 books98 followersIsabella Lucy Bird Bishop (October 15, 1831 – October 7, 1904) was a nineteenth-century English traveller, writer, and a natural historian.
Works:
* The Englishwoman in America (1856)
* Pen and Pencil Sketches Among The Outer Hebrides (published in The Leisure Hour) (1866)
* The Hawaiian Archipelago (1875)
* The Two Atlantics (published in The Leisure Hour) (1876)
* Australia Felix: Impressions of Victoria and Melbourne (published in The Leisure Hour) (1877)
* A Lady's Life in the Rocky Mountains (1879)
* Unbeaten Tracks in Japan (1880)
* Sketches In The Malay Peninsula (published in The Leisure Hour) (1883)
* The Golden Chersonese and the way Thither (1883)
* A Pilgrimage To Sinai (published in The Leisure Hour) (1886)
* Journeys in Persia and Kurdistan (1891)
* Among the Tibetans (1894)
* Korea and her Neighbours (1898)
* The Yangtze Valley and Beyond (1899)
* Chinese Pictures (1900)
* Notes on Morocco (published in the Monthly Review) (1901)
Works:
* The Englishwoman in America (1856)
* Pen and Pencil Sketches Among The Outer Hebrides (published in The Leisure Hour) (1866)
* The Hawaiian Archipelago (1875)
* The Two Atlantics (published in The Leisure Hour) (1876)
* Australia Felix: Impressions of Victoria and Melbourne (published in The Leisure Hour) (1877)
* A Lady's Life in the Rocky Mountains (1879)
* Unbeaten Tracks in Japan (1880)
* Sketches In The Malay Peninsula (published in The Leisure Hour) (1883)
* The Golden Chersonese and the way Thither (1883)
* A Pilgrimage To Sinai (published in The Leisure Hour) (1886)
* Journeys in Persia and Kurdistan (1891)
* Among the Tibetans (1894)
* Korea and her Neighbours (1898)
* The Yangtze Valley and Beyond (1899)
* Chinese Pictures (1900)
* Notes on Morocco (published in the Monthly Review) (1901)
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
December 3, 2025
Nearing the age of 50, Isabella Bird undertook a journey from Canton to Saigon and on to Singapore and the Straits settlements of Malacca and Penang. Her description results in not only a groundbreaking travel book but a classic of Malayan history. She saw the Malayan Peninsula at a time when a great immigration of Chinese miners and merchants were coming into the country, when Britain was sneakily extending its control, and when long established Malayan traditions were under assault, some to be turned over in part, such as debt slavery, while others remained strong, such as the ingrained strength of Islam throughout the Malayan population. It is amazing to hear of her trips up malarial and dengue ridden rivers, encounters with snakes, centipedes, and leeches, rides on elephants, and journeys into only recently pacified villages where war had just finished. Bird, of course, was one of the household names of late Victorian society, noted for her worldwide travels and explorations. But it was this insight into Malaya and Southeast Asia that interested me. Just a couple of generations after her 1880 expedition, you can see how much things had and had not changed in some of W. Somerset Maugham's travel writing and fiction. They covered similar terrain.
Bird was a remarkable person. Just a month or so ago, I finished reading an historical account of Nellie Bly's and Elizabeth Bisland's race around the world in under 80 days just about a decade after the much more rigorous and dangerous exploits of Bird. She apparently had a cast iron constituion, wandering around Canton on foot for 18 miles one day and doing the same for three miles in Saigon on another. She forded crocodile laden rivers, emptied cobras out of her blankets, but constantly fell to one torment in particular, mosquitoes, which she never could conquer. As strong as she was physically, Bird was also a disciplined and rigorous observer. She documents just about every aspect of Malay life, geography, culture, religion, superstitions, and politics as is available. Anyone reading this will have a complete picture of life on the peninsula as it was during the last decades of the nineteenth century.
The book is of another value as well. Bird was an aggressive defender of the "goodness" she believed Britain and its empire brought the world. Hers is a view of just exactly how many citizens of Britain regarded empire at the time. She tries to be fair, tries to balance faults with justice and advancement. Yet nonetheless she sees Britain's presence nearly always as an eventual positive. Her one argument is in how Malays and Chinese flocked to British ruled states because there they were assured of justice and equality before the law. Perhaps she took British residents' and administrators' words too easily. Whatever her failings, however, I don't see how anyone can approach the modern development of Malaysia and not study Bird's work.
Bird was a remarkable person. Just a month or so ago, I finished reading an historical account of Nellie Bly's and Elizabeth Bisland's race around the world in under 80 days just about a decade after the much more rigorous and dangerous exploits of Bird. She apparently had a cast iron constituion, wandering around Canton on foot for 18 miles one day and doing the same for three miles in Saigon on another. She forded crocodile laden rivers, emptied cobras out of her blankets, but constantly fell to one torment in particular, mosquitoes, which she never could conquer. As strong as she was physically, Bird was also a disciplined and rigorous observer. She documents just about every aspect of Malay life, geography, culture, religion, superstitions, and politics as is available. Anyone reading this will have a complete picture of life on the peninsula as it was during the last decades of the nineteenth century.
The book is of another value as well. Bird was an aggressive defender of the "goodness" she believed Britain and its empire brought the world. Hers is a view of just exactly how many citizens of Britain regarded empire at the time. She tries to be fair, tries to balance faults with justice and advancement. Yet nonetheless she sees Britain's presence nearly always as an eventual positive. Her one argument is in how Malays and Chinese flocked to British ruled states because there they were assured of justice and equality before the law. Perhaps she took British residents' and administrators' words too easily. Whatever her failings, however, I don't see how anyone can approach the modern development of Malaysia and not study Bird's work.
May 19, 2012
This is an excellent book! I recommend it to all adult Malaysians. In fact, I'd go so far as to recommend it be included in the Malaysian high school syllabus as well, but alas the language is a bit too fancy.
From 20th January, 1879, to 25th February (This was 33 years before Titanic), Ms. Bird travelled from Singapore to Malacca, Sungei Ujong (I didn't even know where that was before!), Klang, Penang, and Perak, on boat, pony, and on foot (Yes, hardy woman, she was). She paints so vivid a description of Malaya at that time, that you'd be hard pressed to forget it.
There is so much in the book that you'll never learn in Sejarah (History) class. For instance (Warning: Spoiler ensues), I didn't know that slavery was commonplace in Malaya. Among the Malay Muslim population, too! It was one of the vices that the British were trying to eradicate, to varying degrees of success in each state, as the Sultans, Rajas, & Malay upper-class were the ones who gained from it most (More slaves = More power).
Tiger attacks were also not uncommon then. They roamed the land just as they should be, and attacked whomever they will (Even terrorised what is now downtown Melaka). If you managed to kill one, or a snake, rhino, or other such beast, you could claim a reward from the British Government. Fancy that.
The British residents were not all what we make them out to be: Evil white men trying to usurp the Sultans' powers and rule the lands. Some were genuinely trying to work hand-in-hand with them and to educate them to better rule the Malay States. Yes, it's not very credible coming from the mouth of a British lady, but at least we have another point of view, as opposed to the "British = Evil Pendatang" viewpoint.
You'll find that some of the living conditions then are still the same now, in 2012. Some of the Rajas were tyrants in effect. They overtax the Rakyat for traversing a particular stretch of river (There are many Rajas and many rivers in one state); they lend money, and if the debtor cannot pay in time, turn them and their families into slaves; they sometimes don't feed and clothe their slaves, so the slaves in turn ravage other innocent Rakyat in the name of their masters and perpetuate the cycle of oppression.
The Chinese merchants were already successful in Singapore, Malacca, & Penang then. They were the economy, and they were what made those places what they are now. Malays, on the other hand, were much more comfortable in their kampungs. Crime was rare among the Malays, and were mostly prevalent in the Chinese mining communities.
If those little tidbits don't interest you, then I don't know why you're still reading this. So pick up a copy and enjoy your new "British insider info on 1879 Malaya." You'll find a few familiar old names like Yap Ah Loi, Frank A. Swettenham, William G. Maxwell, Frederick A. Weld, and Hugh Low =)
From 20th January, 1879, to 25th February (This was 33 years before Titanic), Ms. Bird travelled from Singapore to Malacca, Sungei Ujong (I didn't even know where that was before!), Klang, Penang, and Perak, on boat, pony, and on foot (Yes, hardy woman, she was). She paints so vivid a description of Malaya at that time, that you'd be hard pressed to forget it.
There is so much in the book that you'll never learn in Sejarah (History) class. For instance (Warning: Spoiler ensues), I didn't know that slavery was commonplace in Malaya. Among the Malay Muslim population, too! It was one of the vices that the British were trying to eradicate, to varying degrees of success in each state, as the Sultans, Rajas, & Malay upper-class were the ones who gained from it most (More slaves = More power).
Tiger attacks were also not uncommon then. They roamed the land just as they should be, and attacked whomever they will (Even terrorised what is now downtown Melaka). If you managed to kill one, or a snake, rhino, or other such beast, you could claim a reward from the British Government. Fancy that.
The British residents were not all what we make them out to be: Evil white men trying to usurp the Sultans' powers and rule the lands. Some were genuinely trying to work hand-in-hand with them and to educate them to better rule the Malay States. Yes, it's not very credible coming from the mouth of a British lady, but at least we have another point of view, as opposed to the "British = Evil Pendatang" viewpoint.
You'll find that some of the living conditions then are still the same now, in 2012. Some of the Rajas were tyrants in effect. They overtax the Rakyat for traversing a particular stretch of river (There are many Rajas and many rivers in one state); they lend money, and if the debtor cannot pay in time, turn them and their families into slaves; they sometimes don't feed and clothe their slaves, so the slaves in turn ravage other innocent Rakyat in the name of their masters and perpetuate the cycle of oppression.
The Chinese merchants were already successful in Singapore, Malacca, & Penang then. They were the economy, and they were what made those places what they are now. Malays, on the other hand, were much more comfortable in their kampungs. Crime was rare among the Malays, and were mostly prevalent in the Chinese mining communities.
If those little tidbits don't interest you, then I don't know why you're still reading this. So pick up a copy and enjoy your new "British insider info on 1879 Malaya." You'll find a few familiar old names like Yap Ah Loi, Frank A. Swettenham, William G. Maxwell, Frederick A. Weld, and Hugh Low =)
May 11, 2019
You've probably never heard of Isabella Lucy Bird. She was a female explorer and adventurer from Victorian era England, who visited and wrote about places as diverse as Japan, Hawaii, India, Persia, Kurdistan and Turkey - not to mention Australia and the American West. She was still traveling in her sixties, on her own, in the most rugged of circumstances, even though she was nearly an invalid in her youth. Among her other accomplishments, she was the first woman to be elected to the Royal Geographic Society.
For more information about her remarkable life, I recommend the article on Wikipedia:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isabell...
The Golden Chersonese chronicles her journeys in Canton, Hong Kong, Singapore and Malaysia. Since I live in Southeast Asia myself, I was very curious to read her impressions.
The book is based on her letters to her sister, which were usually written soon after the experiences they describe. Thus they have a strong sense of immediacy and are amazingly detailed. Isabella is acutely observant; her descriptions are wonderfully vivid and often insightful. She provides lavish, opulent accounts of the natural world in which she travels, the lush jungles of the Malayan peninsula, the steamy and mosquito-infested mangrove swamps, the rivers and waterfalls that criss-cross the mostly unspoiled land. She also describes the people, their clothing, their housing, their customs, superstitions and laws, and spends a not-insignificant amount of time on the economy of the various Malay states, some of which were thriving under British protection, others floundering.
I was very impressed by her relative lack of prejudice. As a product of Imperial Britannia one might expect her to look down on the relatively less civilized peoples she meets in her voyage, but this is not the case. She does make judgments, but mostly based on her own observations.
I also marveled at her resiliency. She rides elephants, wades through rivers, endures storms at sea and on land. Periodically I had to remind myself that she must have been wearing a corset, long skirts and all the paraphernalia loaded onto women at that time. She spends weeks more or less alone in a remote outpost, with only several domesticated apes for company. She's also far braver than I would be, taking surprising risks and venturing out into the unknown for the sake of satisfying her curiosity.
Overall, this is a fascinating book, and quite readable despite the old-fashioned style of the prose. Isabella's personality comes through strongly, and you really can't help but like her.
I will definitely be sampling some of her other work, much of which, by the way, is available for download from Project Gutenberg.
For more information about her remarkable life, I recommend the article on Wikipedia:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isabell...
The Golden Chersonese chronicles her journeys in Canton, Hong Kong, Singapore and Malaysia. Since I live in Southeast Asia myself, I was very curious to read her impressions.
The book is based on her letters to her sister, which were usually written soon after the experiences they describe. Thus they have a strong sense of immediacy and are amazingly detailed. Isabella is acutely observant; her descriptions are wonderfully vivid and often insightful. She provides lavish, opulent accounts of the natural world in which she travels, the lush jungles of the Malayan peninsula, the steamy and mosquito-infested mangrove swamps, the rivers and waterfalls that criss-cross the mostly unspoiled land. She also describes the people, their clothing, their housing, their customs, superstitions and laws, and spends a not-insignificant amount of time on the economy of the various Malay states, some of which were thriving under British protection, others floundering.
I was very impressed by her relative lack of prejudice. As a product of Imperial Britannia one might expect her to look down on the relatively less civilized peoples she meets in her voyage, but this is not the case. She does make judgments, but mostly based on her own observations.
I also marveled at her resiliency. She rides elephants, wades through rivers, endures storms at sea and on land. Periodically I had to remind myself that she must have been wearing a corset, long skirts and all the paraphernalia loaded onto women at that time. She spends weeks more or less alone in a remote outpost, with only several domesticated apes for company. She's also far braver than I would be, taking surprising risks and venturing out into the unknown for the sake of satisfying her curiosity.
Overall, this is a fascinating book, and quite readable despite the old-fashioned style of the prose. Isabella's personality comes through strongly, and you really can't help but like her.
I will definitely be sampling some of her other work, much of which, by the way, is available for download from Project Gutenberg.
July 4, 2020
4.5* : An informative and often humorous account of the author’s travels through Asia, Malaysia in particular, in the nineteenth century. Traveling alone as a woman in 1879, in remote and unexplored areas, must have been so dangerous and incredibly challenging. However, nothing seems to shock her. I’m full of admiration for this amazing woman - the first female member of the Royal Geographic Society. Her account is full of interesting and amusing facts both with regard to the local people, landscape, history and the British living in the area. A great insight into Malaysia from the perspective of an educated female Victorian traveller.
August 10, 2013
An interesting insight into 19th Century Malaya, through the eyes of an independent Englishwoman. I liked the narrator, and perhaps enjoyed the book more due to her acute observations. No doubt some of her sentiments were tempered by colonialism of that time, but she seems like a fair, level-headed individual, and reading her account was akin to taking a step back in time. Pretty cool.
February 28, 2011
"I had a delightful canter of several miles before the sun was above the tree-tops, the morning mists, rose-flushed, rolled grandly away, and just as I reached the beautiful pass of Bukit Berapit, the apes were hooting their morning hymn, and the forests rang with the joyous trills and songs of birds. 'All Thy works praise Thee, O Lord!'"
Isabella ate with British functionaries--and with apes at the table, eating off of fine china. She rode in dug-outs through swampy lakes. She rode on frightening elephants, even across a river, where the elephant submerged itself, leaving only its trunk above water to breathe, and she got wet, sitting in a basket slung across its back. She befriended a little wau-wau ape, who later became ill and died. She visited prisons and market-places. She traveled in dirty little steamers and on foot. Mosquitoes bit her, leeches clung to her ankles, and tiger roars frightened her.
I learned that the phrase "to run amok" had its origin in Malaysia. It referred to a man suddenly going crazy, grabbing a knife, running through the village, and slashing everyone in sight. People would cry "Amok! Amok!" to warn each other that this madman was on a tear. I also learned that a great problem in Malaysia in the late 1800s was debt-slavery. For owing a debt, a man could become a slave, along with his wife, children, and grandchildren. And if the debtor came up with the money to pay off his debt, his "master" could simply refuse to accept it. And "masters" were not required to take care of the slaves, so often the slaves had to come up with their own food, clothing, and other necessities. Yet they were considered property, like cattle, and could be killed for even small infractions or on the "master's" whim. Let us hope this system is no longer in place there.
I would have rated this book higher, but she does get tedious at times, especially when she feels the need to recite export statistics and the like. But on the whole, this was great to read. I look forward to reading about her exploits in Japan.
Isabella ate with British functionaries--and with apes at the table, eating off of fine china. She rode in dug-outs through swampy lakes. She rode on frightening elephants, even across a river, where the elephant submerged itself, leaving only its trunk above water to breathe, and she got wet, sitting in a basket slung across its back. She befriended a little wau-wau ape, who later became ill and died. She visited prisons and market-places. She traveled in dirty little steamers and on foot. Mosquitoes bit her, leeches clung to her ankles, and tiger roars frightened her.
I learned that the phrase "to run amok" had its origin in Malaysia. It referred to a man suddenly going crazy, grabbing a knife, running through the village, and slashing everyone in sight. People would cry "Amok! Amok!" to warn each other that this madman was on a tear. I also learned that a great problem in Malaysia in the late 1800s was debt-slavery. For owing a debt, a man could become a slave, along with his wife, children, and grandchildren. And if the debtor came up with the money to pay off his debt, his "master" could simply refuse to accept it. And "masters" were not required to take care of the slaves, so often the slaves had to come up with their own food, clothing, and other necessities. Yet they were considered property, like cattle, and could be killed for even small infractions or on the "master's" whim. Let us hope this system is no longer in place there.
I would have rated this book higher, but she does get tedious at times, especially when she feels the need to recite export statistics and the like. But on the whole, this was great to read. I look forward to reading about her exploits in Japan.
February 8, 2014
It is like when Lucy goes into the magician's house on that island in "The Voyage of the Dawn Treader". A long corridor lined with shelves of reference books, artefacts from exotic lands hung up as decorations, stuffed animals, but mostly in this case tropical plants in pots. Every so often there is a doorway leading to an unwritten Conrad novel. How I wish Miss Bird had written some of those novels! All the characters are kicking around in this book, cooling their heels. I plan to use her description of one character as having 'neither ideas, nor the consciousness of the absence of ideas' extensively in marking student essays.
Miss Bird is a fascinating guide to Canton, Saigon, Singapore, and the west coast of the Malay Penninsula in 1880. I suspect she might be rather exasperating to travel with in real life, but on the printed page she is just exhilarating. I would never have been game to do a quarter of the things she does on her journey.
Miss Bird is a fascinating guide to Canton, Saigon, Singapore, and the west coast of the Malay Penninsula in 1880. I suspect she might be rather exasperating to travel with in real life, but on the printed page she is just exhilarating. I would never have been game to do a quarter of the things she does on her journey.
February 28, 2021
A remarkable work by a formidable woman. She was a pioneer in many ways and was an explorer at heart.
This book is a travelogue about the Malay Peninsula but the way tither, via China and Vietnam takes up the first third of the book.
She is honest in her opinions and beyond observing, seems to have researched numbers and facts in some detail.
Her opinions are strong and judgmental, and from today's perspective, often politically incorrect or even rude or racist, but as the publisher of this version, Graham Earnshaw put it aptly, "She was, as are we all, a creature of her times and background".
This book is a travelogue about the Malay Peninsula but the way tither, via China and Vietnam takes up the first third of the book.
She is honest in her opinions and beyond observing, seems to have researched numbers and facts in some detail.
Her opinions are strong and judgmental, and from today's perspective, often politically incorrect or even rude or racist, but as the publisher of this version, Graham Earnshaw put it aptly, "She was, as are we all, a creature of her times and background".
Read
August 2, 2011Really took my time reading this. Savoured every word. Miss Bird virtually strolled through Malayan history during the early days of British rule. Great insight in the minds of the colonial rulers, the natives and the immigrant Chinese. Would love to travel together with her.
July 25, 2011
Not easy to find good travel narratives on 19th C Malayan peninsula - this being one.
September 9, 2015
Read full review here: http://ilayreading.com/2015/09/09/the...
I almost gave this one up–it is written from a very colonial perspective, and at first it came across with a very icky feel to it. There’s historical perspective…and then there is writing about other humans as if they are animals in a zoo.
I was left with a very bitter sense of distaste and decided to just put it away and take it off my Goodreads list. But, when I went to do so, the first review on the page is from a Malaysian gentleman who recommends strongly that this book be read by all Malaysian adults–so I decided to keep going. If the people of the Malay Peninsula can get past the extreme colonial attitude…so should I.
It did get better. There was still quite a bit of Imperialistic racism, but, once Bird learned more about the culture and people, she did get better about it. There was, however, a bit disconnect for her between Christianity and “The Mohammedians.” I found her commentary intriguing from a historical perspective, and it was interesting to see that the conflict there hasn’t changed much in 200 years, but at times it was hard to take. Maybe it was because it was like looking at the West with a mirror. That is never a good feeling.
On the more positive side, Bird’s descriptions of her surroundings were delightful. She was obviously enthralled with the beauty of the jungle, the bustling cities–Singapore apparently has a LOT of fruit (SO MUCH FRUIT)–and just all of the color that exists in Southeast Asia. For all her faults (the woman thought elephants were ugly!), she is a fantastic travel writer, and while I disagree with her on many things (ELEPHANTS! I mean COME ON WOMAN!), I am glad I continued with this piece. There’s much to be learned about this region by reading The Golden Chersonese–it’s a valuable work of imperial world travel.
I almost gave this one up–it is written from a very colonial perspective, and at first it came across with a very icky feel to it. There’s historical perspective…and then there is writing about other humans as if they are animals in a zoo.
I was left with a very bitter sense of distaste and decided to just put it away and take it off my Goodreads list. But, when I went to do so, the first review on the page is from a Malaysian gentleman who recommends strongly that this book be read by all Malaysian adults–so I decided to keep going. If the people of the Malay Peninsula can get past the extreme colonial attitude…so should I.
It did get better. There was still quite a bit of Imperialistic racism, but, once Bird learned more about the culture and people, she did get better about it. There was, however, a bit disconnect for her between Christianity and “The Mohammedians.” I found her commentary intriguing from a historical perspective, and it was interesting to see that the conflict there hasn’t changed much in 200 years, but at times it was hard to take. Maybe it was because it was like looking at the West with a mirror. That is never a good feeling.
On the more positive side, Bird’s descriptions of her surroundings were delightful. She was obviously enthralled with the beauty of the jungle, the bustling cities–Singapore apparently has a LOT of fruit (SO MUCH FRUIT)–and just all of the color that exists in Southeast Asia. For all her faults (the woman thought elephants were ugly!), she is a fantastic travel writer, and while I disagree with her on many things (ELEPHANTS! I mean COME ON WOMAN!), I am glad I continued with this piece. There’s much to be learned about this region by reading The Golden Chersonese–it’s a valuable work of imperial world travel.
June 23, 2009
First female member of the Royal Geographic Society!
October 13, 2013
I borrow this book from my friend. this book is really awesome. i take 1 weeks to finish reading it.
June 6, 2014
As an introduction to Malaya in the late 1800's this was a fascinating insight to the people. Some of Isabella Bird's comments remain very relevant today although I am sure Malays would deny it.
January 28, 2021
Throughly enjoyable but obviously of its time. Many flowery and evocative descriptions of the landscape peoples and wildlife. Having grown up in Malaya it was a joy for me to read
November 22, 2021
My husband read this to me. Having read the “Unbeaten Tracks in Japan,” I was very surprised to find that this book captures the author’s travels rights after the Japanese trip. The books could not be more different - in Japan, Isabella Bird was a true explorer, forging ahead alone through uncharted territory. In comparison, this book feels like she is “vacationing” in the Golden Chersonese, if this woman could ever take a vacation in the modern sense of the word. Nevertheless, she is having a great time, and her descriptions of everything around her are as vivid as they are informative. It’s a thoughtful and measured commentary on British colonialism, and captures the beauty and the complexity of the region.
October 11, 2023
The author is ahead of her time
Mesmerised by the lucidity of her description of events and fluidity readers will be entertained and enchanted by her tales of the Far East .
About its peoples , culture and religion , the economics migrants that she despised, on British colonial administration the trickery that they have engaged in with local leaders for their own benefits and also the benefits to the poor and oppressed .
She is atypical lady of her generation
Stoically fearless and with a witty disposition unconditional love for small animals and hatred of strange ugly beast such as the elephants 😫😫
May 1, 2011
Read this while in Malaysia... Gotta love this Victorian-era adventurer.
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews