Book Roundup - Burton and Marching to the Drums

I have decided to start reviewing books that I've read, both to share some interesting finds with others but also so that I can better remember what I read! Most of what I read is non-fiction history books, with a special interest in both the Ancient World (up to the Rise of Rome) and the Victorian era, which is where both of today's books focus.

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Burton by Byron Farwell

Byron Farwell quickly became my favorite author specializing in Victorian era military and exploration history. This is my third or fourth book by him and I love his masterful prose and riveting detail. In this biography he tackles the complicated life of Richard Francis Burton, who is most known for two very divergent accomplishments: as an explorer he was the first European to discover the source of the Nile and as an author he wrote the most classic, complete translation of One Thousand and One Nights, the famous collection of Arab folk stories. 

Ironically, Burton was kind of a bad explorer and author. He was a lousy expedition leader, obsessed with travel and fame but unskilled at leading men. His expedition to the lakes of Central Africa was a terribly  inefficient journey fraught with struggle that could have been avoided. And it was his expedition partner (and bitter enemy) John Speke who actually traveled to Lake Victoria and saw it with his own eyes. 

As an author, all of Burton's works other than One Thousand and One Nights were complete flops due to Burton's absolute disregard for editing, his endless footnotes, his disdain for his own readers, and his constant interjections of his own hateful rhetoric against every conceivable group of people in the world. Only at age 64 was One Thousand and One Nights published.

Farwell has a wonderful passage on Burton's unsuitability for military and government work, which was how Burton supported himself throughout his whole life.

"It has been suggested that Burton was a man born out of his time, that he should have been an Elizabethan or a Roman, but the fact is that there has never been a right time for a man such as Burton. He would have been a misfit in any age--one whose temperament, character, and vast range of interests, would have put him outside the main social stream whatever the era. The Victorian period was as good as any for a restless man with an inexhaustible hunger for travel and excitement. He should have had independent means, for he was essentially unsuited for any sort of employment. Basically undisciplined, he was destined to spend his entire adult life under military or consular discipline without ever conforming to the patterns that make for success in those fields. Had Her Majesty's Government created the post of Roving Ambassador to Barbarians, Burton might have adequately filled the post, but unfortunately only a single opportunity was given to him in this capacity, and his diplomatic mission was an impossible one."

And yet despite his many faults (or perhaps in part due to them), Burton is a fascinating character. He threw himself into extreme danger time and time again with very little reward. He traveled around the world, from unexplored Africa to the Wild West of the USA, recording what he saw with his eccentric perspective. Regarded as one of the best swordsman of his time, he was a master of disguises and languages and a connoisseur of strange and exotic religious and sexual practices.

Farwell's biography also pays considerable attention to Burton's wife Isabel, who is a fascinating contrast for Burton and very indicative of the "energetic" Victorian lady. She supported Burton with an unrelenting passion from the moment she met him, even if he often left for foreign lands without warning and rarely wrote to her. She believed that their marriage was prophesied by a Gypsy fortune teller. When she was able to travel with him she invariably attempted to play doctor to the local people (which she had mixed success at) and campaigned tirelessly for the humane treatment of animals in parts of the world where her message was considered foolish.

Highly recommended for anyone interested in eccentric Victorian personalities and African exploration.

Marching to the Drums by Ian Knight

Marching to the Drums is a collection of first hand accounts from British soldiers who served during the entire span of Queen Victoria's reign, 64 years of conflict in every corner of the world. This is a rare treat for anyone with interest in the period, since personal accounts from this era can be hard to find. Most of the passages are reminisces from aged veterans, recorded in English newspapers far after the events of the war. Regardless, the recollections are equal parts stirring and haunting.

The accounts cover the most well known wars of the period, such as the Indian Mutiny and the Zulu War, as well as lesser known campaigns such as in Abyssinia and China. Throughout them all you get a sense of the key importance of individual military leaders on the morale of their force. Leaders who embodied military valor and were seen leading from the front could push their men to stronger discipline and effort. Additionally you see true respect from the soldiers for their opponents (with the major exception of the Indian Mutiny, where atrocities were carried out against British women and children). There are fascinating and harrowing tales of heroism as well as desperate survival. 

My favorite recollection comes from a soldier in the Maori Wars in New Zealand, who spends much of his account focused on the "dusky belles" which he fought against and met in the war, Maori women who must have made an incredible impact on this old man recollecting his past 40 years later.

Recommended for wargamers and scholars of this period for a fresh, personal view of some of the famous (and obscure) conflicts of the 19th century.