CAVE, Lawrence Trent.

£200 · Offered by Peter Harrington · No longer available

The French in Africa. First edition of the author's social and historical account of Algeria before and after the French conquest and occupation, focusing on its people and ancient culture, amidst the Scramble for Africa. This book is scarce in first edition; a second edition was published in the same year. Lawrence Trent Cave (1824-1899) was a fellow of the Royal Geographical Society who, in 1853, went on a tour of Algeria relying on the hospitality of French officers. Cave was in active service with the 45th and 54th regiments in the 1840s. Cave published the book during the French Invasion Scare of 1859- 1860 in the hopes of subverting his British audience's "national prejudices" (preface) and, therefore "aimed at strict impartiality" (ibid.). Cave advocates for Algeria as a safe and widely appealing destination for British travellers.

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