A wild success in its first printing in 1897, this account of a naive Victorian woman's experiences in West Africa is fascinating, in part for its insight into prevailing turn-of-the-century Western ideas about the so-called "dark continent." Kingsley -- a genuine explorer -- writes with a self-deprecating wit and deadpan humor of her collecting expeditions throughout West Africa, Cameroon and Gabon. Abridged and introduced by Elspeth Huxley.  (WAF05, $14.95)

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Wanderings in West Africa
Richard Francis Burton
TRAVEL NARRATIVE •  1991 • PAPER  • 624 PAGES
This account, originally published in 1861, results from a three-year stint in the British Foreign office in Fernando Po, an island off the coast of West Africa. It's a valuable first-hand account of short trips around the West African coast. (WAF12, $19.95)