The Last Journals of David Livingstone in Central Africa from 1865 to his Death. Vols. I-II

Description:

Continued by a narrative of his last moments and sufferings, obtained from his faithful servants Chuma and Susi, by Horace Waller, Rector of Twywell. First edition. Complete in 2 volumes. Publisher's catalogues to rear dated December and November 1874 respectively.

David Livingstone (1813-1873) was a Scottish missionary, explorer, and physician renowned for his expeditions across Africa and his efforts to map the continent’s interior. These volumes recount the final journals of his ill-fated quest to discover the source of the Nile. The expedition was beset by hardship, including disease, stolen supplies, and confrontations with Arab slave traders. After falling gravely ill, Livingstone disappeared from contact with the outside world for several years while recovering in Ujiji, a settlement on the shores of Lake Tanganyika. It was there that he famously met the British explorer and journalist Henry Morton Stanley.

Although Stanley urged him to return to Britain, Livingstone refused, convinced that his work in Africa remained unfinished. Determined to continue his search for the Nile’s source, he embarked on one final journey during which he died from dysentery and pneumonia. The publication of Stanley’s account of finding Livingstone, together with these last journals, cemented Livingstone’s reputation as both a national hero and a martyr in the eyes of the British public.

Condition

8vo, orig. plum cloth, gilt, professionally repaired and rebacked, with original worn and somewhat faded bakckstrips laid down; original endpapers. Page xiv/xv in Vol. I untidily opened with ragged tear to outer margin, without loss to text. Large folding map in rear pocket with the two panels facing the book boards browned. Good. From the library of David J. Greathead (1931-2006), with his name to endpapers.