Bøger af Robert Fortune

First published in 1847, this is an important description of what were then little-known parts of China by the botanist Robert Fortune (1812-80). Son of a hedger, Fortune rose to be one of the most famous gardeners, botanists and plant hunters of his day, making several visits to China to bring out commercially important plants, especially tea for introduction to British India, and ornamental plants (many now bearing the name fortunei) which were enthusiastically taken up by Victorian gardeners. His three years in China took him to areas newly open to Europeans after Chinese defeat in the First Opium War (1839-42). His sometimes trenchant criticisms of the Chinese - like his contemporaries, he was fully persuaded of the superiority of the West - are balanced by his knowledgeable comments on local flora and plant cultivation, and the book remains an insightful early description of inland regions of China.

When Scottish botanist Robert Fortune (1812-80) travelled to Japan in 1860, shortly after it had reopened to foreign visitors for the first time in centuries, he found the islands to be both mysterious and dangerous. This work, first published in 1863, is Fortune's spirited account of his travels, from Nagasaki to Yedo (modern-day Tokyo) and then on to Peking (Beijing). Fortune had previously spent several years in China researching tea plants and tea-growing technology, which he later introduced to the plantations of India. (His books on his experiences in China are also reissued in the Cambridge Library Collection.) An engaging raconteur, Fortune includes here not only detailed horticultural information, but also his observations and opinions on Japan's 'strange people and their very beautiful land'. This remains for scholars and general readers an illuminating piece of travel writing, enhanced by the illustrations throughout.

China was still largely alien territory for westerners in the mid-nineteenth century. In this book, first published in 1857, Robert Fortune (1813-1880) describes his third visit there, but despite his relative familiarity with the country, his account is full of strange and bizarre sights and happenings. Beginning in Shanghai, where he was sent to collect tea samples for the East India Company, he describes an earthquake and the myths of its aftermath, along with his fears of becoming embroiled in the Taiping Rebellion. A keen botanist and entomologist in his own right, he also collected insects (a pastime that led him to become a figure of great hilarity among the locals) and explored the flora of the north. His account of his three-year expedition offers a glimpse of the Chinese language and culture through the lens of Victorian expectations, and is a fascinating resource for students and the general reader.

The botanist Robert Fortune (1813-80) was sent to China by the East India Company in 1848 in order to obtain tea samples for the plantations in the Himalayas. This account of his adventures there, first published in 1852, provides a glimpse into his enchanting and often bizarre experiences.