HOT COUNTRIES

Originally published in 1930 and aided ably by Lynd Ward's powerfully resonant wood engravings, this facsimile reprint is published under the Armchair Traveller Series. Rich in vivid detail, travel writing is almost as good as the journey itself. Stops include Tahiti, Martinique, Siam, Ceylon and the New Hebrides as well as the West Indies. Some of the book?s best passages are observations on 'The Englishmen in the Tropics' and Alec Waugh's refusal or inability to assimilate to those countries. Colourful descriptions of French colonial life and customs from the origins of Angostura Bitters to the scenic beauty of Jamaica, to the liaisons between white men and native women, further fill out the itinerary. The book is an evocative record of the places portrayed and an impression of the early 1900s attitudes and language. 'Four hundred miles away across the windward passage, Nugent, in the yellow-coloured residence in Spanish Town, addressed Dessalines, whom he described to Hobart as the brigand chief, as 'Your Excellency' and in the weary well-bred indifference of official English explained the terms on which Jamaica would be ready to trade with Haiti...' History, fine writing and exquisite woodcut illustrations depicting the styles and attitudes, people and nature. 304pp, paperback.