East by West, Vol. 2


Read by Ruth Golding

(4.3 stars; 10 reviews)

East by West: a Journey in the Recess is an account of British journalist Henry Lucy's travels across America and on to the Far East in 1883, within two or three decades of the American Civil War, the Indian Mutiny and the end of Japan's isolation from the western world. Lucy was one of the most influential journalists of his day and, as "Toby M.P.", a noted humorist in Punch magazine. His acute powers of observation and light touch make this a most engaging book.

This is the second of two volumes and covers his experiences in Japan, India and other parts of south-east Asia, returning home via Aden and the Suez Canal. The first volume included his travels in America and in Japan, including the Atlantic and Pacific crossings by steamer.

Note: In Chapter 6, Lucy understandably, to a readership wholly unfamiliar with Japan, includes lengthy statistics about Japan's systems and economy. While the reader of the text can glance at such tables and move swiftly on, this is not possible in an audiobook. Accordingly, I have made two versions of Chapter 6. The first version is completely unabridged. In the alternative file, 6alt, I have excised the longest statistical tables. (Summary by Ruth Golding) (9 hr 30 min)

Chapters

01 - Dining and Cremating 24:27 Read by Ruth Golding
02 - A Personal Episode in History 25:21 Read by Ruth Golding
03 - By Sea and Land to Kioto 30:57 Read by Ruth Golding
04 - The Capital of the Mikados 24:16 Read by Ruth Golding
05 - Temples and Worshippers 19:43 Read by Ruth Golding
06 - The New Empire in the West 43:38 Read by Ruth Golding
06alt - The New Empire in the West (without statistical tables) 27:10 Read by Ruth Golding
07 - The Gibraltar of the East 20:47 Read by Ruth Golding
08 - In the Tropics 29:09 Read by Ruth Golding
09 - The Isle of Spicy Breezes 29:44 Read by Ruth Golding
10 - The Prisoner of Ceylon 10:53 Read by Ruth Golding
11 - The Liverpool of India 26:35 Read by Ruth Golding
12 - Burying and Giving in Marriage 19:12 Read by Ruth Golding
13 - The Holy City 28:45 Read by Ruth Golding
14 - Bathing in the Ganges 31:57 Read by Ruth Golding
15 - The Residency at Lucknow 13:41 Read by Ruth Golding
16 - Christmas at Cawnpore 19:13 Read by Ruth Golding
17 - The Capital of the Great Mogul 25:11 Read by Ruth Golding
18 - 'The Wonder of India' 17:57 Read by Ruth Golding
19 - Delhi 21:26 Read by Ruth Golding
20 - An Elephant Ride 19:11 Read by Ruth Golding
21 - Out of the Hurly-burly 11:42 Read by Ruth Golding
22 - Something New about India 11:10 Read by Ruth Golding
23 - A British Outpost 15:11 Read by Ruth Golding
24 - Through the Suez Canal 23:14 Read by Ruth Golding