Narrative of the Earl of Elgin's Mission to China and Japan, in the Years 1857, '58, '59 - Volume 1 - Oliphant, Laurence
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In 1857 Laurence Oliphant (1829-88), lawyer, journalist, diplomat, and sometime spy, later Liberal MP, satirical novelist, and, for a time, adherent of the religious mystic Thomas Harris, became private secretary to Lord Elgin (1811-63), accompanying him to China, and thence to Japan, on a mission to protect and extend British trading interests in the region. Oliphant's 1859 account of the trip was published in two volumes. Volume 1 deals with the events of the Second Opium War, from the 'Arrow Incident', discussed in retrospect, to the Treaty of Tientsin, as well as an early diversion to…mehr

Produktbeschreibung
In 1857 Laurence Oliphant (1829-88), lawyer, journalist, diplomat, and sometime spy, later Liberal MP, satirical novelist, and, for a time, adherent of the religious mystic Thomas Harris, became private secretary to Lord Elgin (1811-63), accompanying him to China, and thence to Japan, on a mission to protect and extend British trading interests in the region. Oliphant's 1859 account of the trip was published in two volumes. Volume 1 deals with the events of the Second Opium War, from the 'Arrow Incident', discussed in retrospect, to the Treaty of Tientsin, as well as an early diversion to India to suppress the Mutiny. The work is a mixture of travel narrative - Oliphant had previously written about his travels in the Crimea (also reissued in this series) - and political analysis. It provides both an informative account of the war from a privileged vantage point and a window upon Oliphant's colourful career.
Autorenporträt
Laurence Oliphant, a member of Parliament, was a South African-born British novelist, traveler, diplomat, British intelligence agent, Christian mystic, and Christian Zionist. During his lifetime, his most well-known work was the satirical novel Piccadilly (1870). Since then, his concept for Jewish farming settlements in the Holy Land, known as the Land of Gilead, has received increased attention. Oliphant represented the Stirling Burghs constituency in the UK Parliament. Laurence Oliphant was born in Cape Town, Cape Colony, as the only child of Sir Anthony Oliphant (1793-1859), a member of the Scottish landed elite, and Maria. Sir Anthony was the Attorney General of the Cape Colony when his son was born, but he was quickly appointed Chief Justice of Ceylon. Laurence spent his early life in Colombo, when his father bought a house called Alcove in Captains Gardens, which became known as Maha Nuge Gardens. Sir Anthony and his son are credited for introducing tea to Ceylon and cultivating 30 tea plants imported from China on the Oliphant Estate in Nuwara Eliya. In 1848 and 1849, he and his parents traveled through Europe. In 1851, he traveled with Jung Bahadur from Colombo to Nepal, gathering material for his debut book, A Journey to Katmandu (1852). Oliphant returned to Ceylon and then went to England to study law. Oliphant abandoned his legal studies to travel in Russia. The result of such voyage was his book The Russian Shores of the Black Sea (1853).