Laurence Oliphant

Broschiertes Buch

The Russian Shores of the Black Sea in the Autumn of 1852

Beschreibung

The British diplomat and writer Laurence Oliphant (1829-88) was the author of travel diaries and novels, including the very successful Piccadilly (1870). A keen traveller, he worked as a correspondent for The Times during the Franco-Prussian War (1870-1) and served as Secretary to British Diplomat Lord Elgin in Canada, China and Japan. This book is a narrative of the journey Oliphant made to Russia as a young man, with his friend Oswald Smith. Its publication in 1853 coincided with the beginning of the Crimean War, turning the book into an immediate success. From the splendour of mid-nineteenth-century St Petersburg, to the annexation of the Crimea, and the international consequences of Russian foreign policy for Europe, this illustrated book is also full of witty anecdotes and captivating descriptions. Very influential in its time, it remains an important resource for cultural and political historians.

Autor

Laurence Oliphant, a member of Parliament, was a South African-born British novelist, traveler, diplomat, British intelligence agent, Christian mystic, and Christian Zionist. During his lifetime, his most well-known work was the satirical novel Piccadilly (1870). Since then, his concept for Jewish farming settlements in the Holy Land, known as the Land of Gilead, has received increased attention. Oliphant represented the Stirling Burghs constituency in the UK Parliament. Laurence Oliphant was born in Cape Town, Cape Colony, as the only child of Sir Anthony Oliphant (1793-1859), a member of the Scottish landed elite, and Maria. Sir Anthony was the Attorney General of the Cape Colony when his son was born, but he was quickly appointed Chief Justice of Ceylon. Laurence spent his early life in Colombo, when his father bought a house called Alcove in Captains Gardens, which became known as Maha Nuge Gardens. Sir Anthony and his son are credited for introducing tea to Ceylon and cultivating 30 tea plants imported from China on the Oliphant Estate in Nuwara Eliya. In 1848 and 1849, he and his parents traveled through Europe. In 1851, he traveled with Jung Bahadur from Colombo to Nepal, gathering material for his debut book, A Journey to Katmandu (1852). Oliphant returned to Ceylon and then went to England to study law. Oliphant abandoned his legal studies to travel in Russia. The result of such voyage was his book The Russian Shores of the Black Sea (1853).

Produktdetails

• Verlag: Cambridge University Press
• Seitenzahl: 392
• Erscheinungstermin: 14. Februar 2012
• Englisch
• Abmessung: 216mm x 140mm x 23mm
• Gewicht: 551g
• ISBN-13: 9781108045438
• ISBN-10: 110804543X
• Artikelnr.: 35214484