In eighteenth- and nineteenth-century Britain, books of travel and exploration were much more than simply the printed experiences of intrepid authors. They were works of both artistry and industry – products of the complex, and often contested, relationships between authors and editors, publishers and printers. These books captivated the reading public and played a vital role in creating new geographical truths. In an age of global wonder and of expanding empires, there was no publisher more renowned for its travel books than the House of John Murray.
Drawing on detailed examination of the John Murray Archive of manuscripts, images, and the firm's correspondence with its many authors – a list that included such illustrious explorers and scientists as Charles Darwin and Charles Lyell, and literary giants like Jane Austen, Lord Byron, and Sir Walter Scott – "Travels into Print" considers how journeys of exploration became published accounts and how travelers sought to demonstrate the faithfulness of their written testimony and to secure their personal credibility. This fascinating study in historical geography and book history takes modern readers on a journey into the nature of exploration, the production of authority in published travel narratives, and the creation of geographical authorship – a journey bound together by the unifying force of a world-leading publisher.
Contents:
Preface and Acknowledgments
Chapter One
Exploration and Narrative: Travel, Writing, Publishing, and the House of Murray
Chapter Two
Undertaking Travel and Exploration: Motives and Practicalities
Chapter Three
Writing the Truth: Claims to Credibility in Exploration and Narrative
Chapter Four
Explorers Become Authors: Authorship and Authorization
Chapter Five
Making the Printed Work: Paratextual Material, Visual Images, and Book Production
Chapter Six
Travel Writing in the Marketplace
Chapter Seven
Assembling Words and Worlds
Appendix
Books of Non-European Travel and Exploration Published by John Murray between 1773 and 1859: By Date of First Imprint, with Notes on Edition History before 1901
Notes
Bibliography
Index
About the Author
Innes M. Keighren is a senior lecturer in human geography at Royal Holloway, University of London. He is the author of "Bringing Geography to Book: Ellen Semple" and the "Reception of Geographical Knowledge".
Charles W. J. Withers is the Ogilvie Professor of Geography at the University of Edinburgh. He is the author or co-author of many books, including "Placing the Enlightenment: Thinking Geographically about the Age of Reason".
Bill Bell is professor of bibliography at Cardiff University. He is the general editor of the four-volume Edinburgh History of the Book in Scotland and editor of "The Library: The Transactions of the Bibliographical Society".
Reviews
"The originality of the book's focus lies in its attention to the whole process of publishing, from the writer's original notebooks through to the end product and its marketing. It moves from the facts of travel and geographical exploration to consider how the accounts of these travels appeared in print – a journey that turns out to have been rich in complications. This kind of attention is made possible by the uniquely full records that survive in the John Murray Archive. In this sense, the book is a case study; but the issues raised are so wide-ranging that it turns itself into a much more ambitious analysis. Each of the three authors has clearly brought different strengths to the project, broadening and deepening the book's range. But they have worked together so effectively that the book reads as if it had been written by a single author: there is only one voice. A triumph for the virtues of collaboration and a novel, needed, and groundbreaking contribution, this is a truly original and major work, arguably the most important yet to appear in the burgeoning field of travel writing studies" – Peter Hulme, University of Essex, UK, author of "Cuba's Wild East: A Literary Geography of Oriente"
"No one did more to transform travel writing into one of the nineteenth century's most popular genres than the publishing firm of John Murray, and no one has done more to reveal the significance of that project than the authors of this important new book. Making meticulous use of the Murray archives, Keighren, Withers, and Bell have written a rich and penetrating account of how, as they put it, 'the world was put into words'. Their study offers fresh insights into the premises and practices of travel and exploration, the struggle to give credibility to travelers' tales, the highly mediated process by which travelers became authors, the social and economic forces that shaped print culture, and much more, making it a work that scholars in a range of disciplines will want to read" – Dane Kennedy, George Washington University, author of "The Last Blank Spaces: Exploring Africa and Australia"
"'Travels into Print' offers an original and nuanced approach to book history that exposes the rich interdisciplinary nature of the field. While the work claims neither to be a house history nor an exhaustive exploration of the Murray Archive, its three authors interweave perspectives from historical geography, history of science, art history, material culture, and literary studies to examine travel, topography, and the book trade. In the process, they demonstrate the complex technical, intellectual, political, cultural, and moral negotiations and interventions that bring printed works into the public sphere. Written in a highly engaging, accessible style, 'Travels into Print' gives a fascinating glimpse into the multivariate worlds of travel and exploration narratives and how they have been fashioned in and out of the imaginations of authors, publishers, and their audiences" – Sydney Shep, Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand
