Description
Book SynopsisIn the Victorian and Edwardian eras British explorers sought to become respected geographers and popular public figures, downplaying or reframing their reliance on others for survival. Far from being solitary heroes, these explorers were in reality dependent on the bodies, senses, curiosity, and labor of subaltern people and animals.
In
On the Backs of Others Edward Armston-Sheret offers new perspectives on British exploration in this era by focusing on the contributions of the people and animals, ordinarily written out of the mainstream histories, who made these journeys possible. He explores several well-known case studies of enduring popular and academic interest, such as Richard Francis Burton and John Hanning Speke’s Nile expeditions (1856–59 and 1860–63); Isabella Bird’s travels in North America, Persia, and East Asia (1872–c. 1900); and Captain Robert Falcon Scott’s two Antarctic expeditions (1901–4 and 1911–13).
