KING, Mrs Robert Moss.

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The Diary of a Civilian's Wife in India 1877-1882. First edition, inscribed in a secretarial hand on the front free endpaper, "Presented to the Library of the Royal Asiatic Society in memory of W. S. W. Vaux M.A. by R. Moss King 1887." Expressive of her enthusiasm for travel, Elizabeth King's diary also "provides a superb account exploring the hazards of running a household" in the challenging climate and conditions of British India (Riddick).King (née Egerton, 1843-1917) married Robert Moss King (1832-1903) in 1869, 13 years after his appointment to the Indian civil service. During her husband's posting in Meerut, King indulged an enthusiasm for adventure. In 1878, she travelled to the nearby Missorie hill station by train, coach, and pony, and she visited Naini Tal, Ranikhet, and Almora the following year. "In 1880 she returned to Mussoorie, or more precisely Landour, where she rented a house from March to November and took a trek into the Himalayan interior that included a stay at the hill cantonment of Chakrata. During the summer of 1881 she traveled via Murree to Kashmir, spending two months at Srinagar and its environs... Although her husband accompanied her on some of these journeys, just as often she led her children and an entourage of servants on her own" (Kennedy, p. 120).As revealed in her book, "the coordination of thirty-two servants required a bit more effort than the five she had in England. Associated with various seasons of the year were storms of dust, locu

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