8vo. xxiii, [1], 606 pp., frontispiece portrait, 17 b/w plates, maps / viii, [1], 664 pp., frontispiece portrait, 12 b/w plates, contemporary cloth with gold designs on both covers, rubbed round edges, volume 1 faded, title printed in red & black, index, bookplate verso front cover of volume 2, occasional spotting, otherwise set in very good condition, Chapman & Hall, London, first edition, 1893.

Synopsis

More a compilation of material taken from Burton’s Journals and letters rather than a conventional biography. Penzer comments that ‘Lady Burton was not a suitable person to write her husband’s biography, she had neither the time, health, nor discrimination needed for such a task,’ but it is nevertheless an important insight into Burton’s mind and the scope and breadth of his achievements.