The Travel Diaries of Thomas Robert Malthus edited by Patricia James

Book Description

Secondhand. Good condition. Wear to book corners and edges. Mark on right foredge. Minor mark on front endpage. Dust jacket has wear to edges and is now enclosed in a glossy protective cover.

The diary of Malthus's Scandinavian tour, which forms the main part of this book, was discovered in 1961 by Mr Robert Malthus, a surviving member of the family. It has been transcribed and edited by Mrs Patricia James and is now published for the first time - on the bicentenary of Malthus's birth. Four volumes only have survived.

The first begins on 25 May 1799, when Malthus arrived in Cuxhaven, and describes his travels in Denmark; the fourth ends when he crosses from Norway into Sweden on 3 August. The other journals are less detailed. They cover a tour of northern Britain, probably made in 1810, a tour of the Netherlands and the Rhine in 1825 and a Scottish holiday in 1826.

The journals reveal Malthus as a lively and entertaining travelling companion and an amusing observer of the social scene.

Mrs James provides notes to the text and a biographical introduction.