Notes on Old Edinburgh

Isabella Lucy BirdProject Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.4

Word count: 80K words
Chapters: 9

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.Notes on Old Edinburgh by Isabella L. BirdAuthor: Bird, Isabella L. (Isabella Lucy), 1831-1904,Language: English, Class: HN: Social sciences: Social history and conditions, Social problems, Release Date: May 2, 2011

Editor's review

Notes on Old Edinburgh is a set of observations on the old city by the travel writer Isabella L. Bird, released by Project Gutenberg as an English ebook and classified under social history and conditions. Bird was known for close observation and a plain, direct style; these notes are not a sightseeing guide but a record of streets, dwellings and the living conditions of ordinary people, with something of the social survey about them. Their value lies in seeing the everyday texture of a nineteenth-century city through an outsider's eyes: details of buildings, sanitation, poverty and urban change are often tucked into unassuming prose. It suits readers interested in urban history, social history and travel writing, and works well as background reading before a trip to Edinburgh. Since it is a public-domain e-text without modern notes, look up old place names and institutional terms as you go, and keep notes on places or themes to get more out of it.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers interested in nineteenth-century urban social history
Readers who enjoy travel notes and observational writing
Travelers planning to visit Edinburgh who want background on the old town
Self-learners needing English source material on urban history

Not a good fit for

Readers wanting a modern tourist guide with practical information
Casual readers who prefer light, story-driven narrative
Researchers needing systematic scholarship and detailed notes

Reading tips

Read the opening sections first to get the author's perspective, then read by place or theme.
Keep a map or old-town material handy to match place names and build a sense of space.
Mark passages on living conditions and public health as you go for easy reference.
After finishing, write short responses to two or three scenes to sort out the observer's main concerns.

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

Can this book be used as an Edinburgh travel guide?

Not directly as a guide. It records the old city's conditions and the author's observations, and lacks current information on transport, lodging and opening hours. It works better as pre-trip background to understand the historical layers of the old town; find a modern guide for practical details.

What is Bird's writing style like?

From what is known of her travel writing, her style is direct and closely observant, attentive to concrete scenes and people's circumstances, with little ornate description. In these notes, notice how she presents urban problems in plain language rather than writing only about scenery.

Will it be hard to read without notes?

Old place names and institutional terms may get in the way, but the main thread is observation, so you don't need to understand every item. Look up place names that recur once, skip the rest, and follow the social conditions the author focuses on; understanding won't break down.

Is it suitable for reading in one sitting?

It is in note form, with fairly independent sections, so it suits reading in installments. Reading a short section at a time and taking brief notes makes it easier to remember places and observations than reading it all at once, and it's easier to consult later.

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About the author

Isabella Lucy Bird Author · British · 1831–1904

Isabella L. Bird (1831–1904) was a British traveler and writer, born in Yorkshire in 1831 and died in Edinburgh in 1904. Traveling for health reasons, she journeyed across North America, Hawaii, Japan, Persia, Tibet, and Korea. In 1873 she traveled alone through the Rocky Mountains, and her letters from the journey became A Lady's Life in the Rocky Mountains, which records the wilderness and her travel experiences from a firsthand perspective. Her other works include Unbeaten Tracks in Japan, The Golden Chersonese, The Hawaiian Archipelago, and Journeys in Persia and Kurdistan. In 1892 she became the first woman fellow of the Royal Geographical Society. Drawing on her own travels, her writing is notable for its careful observation and vivid, authentic narration, leaving a lively record of nineteenth-century women's travel writing.