Eothen is a rather witty guide book, it isn't so much a travelogue in the traditional sense, it is a memoir of a series events that happened around the author with most of the focus being on the author himself and how he handled those situations...he just sat there looking the part and let his "man" deal with things.  Kinglake has quite a modern sense of humour,  he doesn't see the point of doing the standard travel book because all those places have been visited and written about before, so go read one of those books if that's what your after.  With this book you're gonna get info on how to handle yourself like a true Englishman.  


I read this book during the Coronavirus lockdown and I found it interesting the similarities to Kinglake's journey through plague ridden Egypt, the social distancing is in effect there...use a donkey to charge at people whilst yelling at them to get out of the way...and the self isolation undertaken by some.  A surprising topic first book I read during the events here.

Kinglake is a very good story teller and this book is full of little stories that draw you in easily, every now and then he gets quite comical, for example describing his old headmaster as using his very bushy eyebrows as arms to direct pupils.  There is the odd satirical comment dotted here and there,  he mentions Britain using Egypt to plant her feet in her efforts to control India.  I did wonder at times how much of this was true, did he really get lost in the desert and instead of backtracking to safety he carried on regardless?  Whether it was true or not it made for some good reading.

The book is finished off with a mini biography by Hannah Rogerson, which was a nice edition, a chance to find out more about the man, relive a couple of his best jokes and to find out that he was one of the first people to be cremated...interesting pub quiz fact if they ever happen again.

Eland has managed to pluck another forgotten classic out of history to bring to the modern reader, so kudos to them for that and thanks to them also for this review copy.

Blog review: felcherman.wordpress.com/2020/04/04/eothen-traces-of-travel-brought-home-from-the-east-by-alexander-william-kinglake/