Narrative of an Expedition to the Zambesi and its Tributaries And of the Discovery of the Lakes Shirwa and Nyassa: 1858–64

E-235: Harper & Brothers. Very Good. 1866. Hardcover. Hardcover. Large 8vo. Harper & Brothers, Franklin Square, New York. 1866. 638 pgs. Frontispiece is a double page birds-eye view of the great cataracts of the Zambesi. Illustrted with 36 illustrations and 1 large folding map. Bound in red cloth boards with titles present to the spine and front board. Boards have light shelf-wear present to the extremities. No ownership marks present. Text is clean and free of marks. Binding tight and solid. The success of the Victorian explorer and missionary David Livingstone's first book, Missionary Travels (1857) , led to his receiving government funding in 1858 for an expedition up the Zambezi River. The trip was expected to last two years, and was intended to further commercial and scientific as well as missionary aims. However, owing to internal disagreements, illness (including the death of Livingstone's wife) , drought and tribal warfare, the explorers' mission took six and a half years and achieved little apart from collecting plant and geological specimens. The upper reaches of the Zambesi proved unnavigable owing to rapids and waterfalls, and the expedition was recalled. This account, published in 1865 by Livingstone (1813–1873) and his younger brother Charles, who had accompanied him, was in part an attempt to excuse the problems which had beset the expedition, and restore Livingstone's reputation in order to gain backing for further ventures. EB; Cambridge Library Collection - African Studies; 8vo 8" - 9" tall; 638 pages .