Isabella Bird

“The Golden Chersonese”, named after the ancient name given to the Malay Peninsula by the Greek scholar, Ptolemy, is a collection of 23 letters written by Isabella Bird to her sister Hennie in Scotland

Isabella Bird, an Englishwoman whose extensive travels and writings earned her the first female membership of the Royal Geographical Society, visited Malaya, Singapore, Indo-China and Hong Kong in 1879. Her detailed descriptions of the Malay Peninsula in the 1870s are in startling contrast to present-day Malaysia and Singapore, and provide a fascinating account of many aspects of the region, including the people, culture, landscapes, and wildlife, all described with the Victorian stiff upper lip typical of her time.

Stanfords Travel Classics feature some of the finest historical travel writing in the English language, with authors hailing from both sides of the Atlantic. Every title has been reset in a contemporary typeface to create a series that every lover of fine travel literature will want to collect and keep.

Specifications: 198 x 129 mm (7 3/4 x 5”) • 320 pages
• ISBN 978-1-912081-71-4 • £9.99 paperback • Available