- 960
Nugent, Maria
Estimate
800 - 1,200 GBP
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Description
- A Journal of a Voyage to, and Residence in, the Island of Jamaica, from 1801 to 1805. By Maria, Lady Nugent. London: [Privately printed by T. and W. Boone], 1839
- Paper
FIRST EDITION, 2 volumes, 8vo (222 x 138mm.), (vol.1) [viii], vii-xx, 500pp.; (vol.2) xx, 516pp., 4 plates [one coloured], original blindstamped brown ribbed cloth, yellow endpapers, slipcase
Provenance
Lady Frances Higginson, 9 Wilton Crescent, ownership inscription
Literature
Sabin 56304; Ragatz, Guide of British Caribbean History
Catalogue Note
"A strictly private journal, it is one of the best sources extant for a study of Caribbean society" (Ragatz, p.231).
The journal, written during Lady Nugent's stay on Jamaica as the wife of Governor General George Nugent, covers not only her domestic life but is also infused with her curiosity about Jamaican people and society. Despite her English prejudices, she shows considerable sympathy for the lot of slaves on the island, gives accounts of appalling injustices, and shocks colonial society at a ball by dancing with an elderly black slave. Characteristically, she came to regard herself and her family as Creoles.
A scarce volume, having only previously appeared at auction once.