A Journey to Katmandu, with the Camp of Jung Bahadoor

Oliphant, Laurence, 1829-1888Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

Rating 3.5

Word count: 312K words
Chapters: 32

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.A Journey to Katmandu (the Capital of Napaul), with the Camp of Jung BahadoorAuthor: Oliphant, Laurence, 1829-1888,Language: English, Class: DS: History: General and Eastern Hemisphere: Asia, Release Date: Jul 6, 2005

Editor's review

This book is nineteenth-century British traveler Laurence Oliphant's firsthand account of his journey to Kathmandu, with observations from the camp of Jung Bahadur. As public-domain travel literature, its value lies not in practical guidance but in offering a first-hand Victorian Western perspective on the Nepalese court and society. The writing bears the clear imprint of its era; its descriptions of terrain, camp life, and diplomatic etiquette are vivid and concrete, making it suitable for readers interested in the history of the Himalayan region and colonial-era travel writing. It is best read as both historical source and literary text: one encounters vivid scenes while remaining alert to the author's stance and biases. The electronic edition comes from Project Gutenberg, convenient for searching and excerpting, and well suited to research notes or comparative reading.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers interested in nineteenth-century travel and diplomatic observations in the Himalayas
Students of history and literature studying colonial travel writing and the Western gaze
Readers who enjoy slowly reading old-style English travelogues and taking excerpt notes
Students needing public-domain English historical sources for coursework or textual analysis

Not a good fit for

Tourists seeking practical Nepal travel guides and up-to-date information
Casual readers who prefer fast-paced narratives or modern fiction
Beginners entirely unfamiliar with nineteenth-century English expression and historical context

Reading tips

Read the table of contents and preface first to grasp the itinerary, then take timeline notes chapter by chapter.
Look up place names and figures on maps and background sources as you go to avoid confusion.
Set aside the author's judgments of local society separately and practice distinguishing observation from bias.
Read alongside other contemporary Asian travelogues to compare differences in narrative perspective.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

Is this book a Nepal travel guide?

No. It is a nineteenth-century travel account recording the author's journey to Kathmandu and his camp experiences, focused on observation and narrative rather than modern practical information on transport, lodging, or sights. For travel guidance, consult a contemporary guidebook.

How difficult is the English, and is it suitable for non-native readers?

As a nineteenth-century English travelogue, it has long sentences and many place and personal names; non-native readers may need a dictionary and background sources. Try one chapter first, read with maps and notes, or select key chapters to excerpt.

What are the advantages of the electronic edition?

The Project Gutenberg edition is a free public-domain e-book, convenient for full-text searching, copying excerpts, and textual analysis. It suits researchers locating passages by keyword and readers reading in segments on electronic devices.

This site is an index: you start “Search all sources” in your browser, and the entries it lists all point to third-party sites; please judge their availability yourself.

About the author

Oliphant, Laurence, 1829-1888 Author

Laurence Oliphant (1829–1888) was a nineteenth-century British writer. Public information about the details of his life is limited, and four of his works are held in this collection, spanning a considerable range of subjects. A Journey to Katmandu, with the Camp of Jung Bahadoor records his travels to Kathmandu in the form of travelogue and observational notes, while Haifa or, Life in Modern Palestine turns its attention to modern life in the Palestine region, again relying on first-hand narration. Piccadilly: A Fragment of Contemporary Biography and Fashionable Philosophy, and Other Sketches shift toward sketches of contemporary figures and social manners, written in a lively tone that blends satire with the essay. Overall, his writing moves between travel reportage, social observation and the familiar essay, emphasizing a sense of place and the spirit of the age, and offering readable texts for later readers interested in various regions and British social manners of the nineteenth century.