Travels into Print: Exploration, Writing, and Publishing with John Murray, 1773–1859

Description

In eighteenth- and nineteenth-century Britain, books of travel and exploration were much more than simply the printed experiences of intrepid authors. They were works of both artistry and industry—products of the complex, and often contested, relationships between authors and editors, publishers and printers. These books captivated the reading public and played a vital role in creating new geographical truths. In an age of global wonder and of expanding empires, there was no publisher more renowned for its travel books than the House of John Murray. Drawing on detailed examination of the John Murray Archive of manuscripts, images, and the firm’s correspondence with its many authors—a list that included such illustrious explorers and scientists as Charles Darwin and Charles Lyell, and literary giants like Jane Austen, Lord Byron, and Sir Walter Scott—Travels into Print considers how journeys of exploration became published accounts and how travelers sought to demonstrate the faithfulness of their written testimony and to secure their personal credibility. This fascinating study in historical geography and book history takes modern readers on a journey into the nature of exploration, the production of authority in published travel narratives, and the creation of geographical authorship—a journey bound together by the unifying force of a world-leading publisher. Contents......Page 8 Preface and Acknowledgments......Page 10 Chapter One - Exploration and Narrative: Travel, Writing, Publishing, and the House of Murray......Page 16 Chapter Two - Undertaking Travel and Exploration: Motives and Practicalities......Page 49 Chapter Three - Writing the Truth: Claims to Credibility in Exploration and Narrative......Page 83 Chapter Four - Explorers Become Authors: Authorship and Authorization......Page 115 Chapter Five - Making the Printed Work: Paratextual Material, Visual Images, and Book Production......Page 148 Chapter Six - Travel Writing in the Marketplace......Page 190 Chapter Seven - Assembling Words and Worlds......Page 240 Appendix......Page 258 Notes......Page 318 Bibliography......Page 356 Index......Page 378 Plates follow page 208......Page 224