A Corkscrew is Most Useful - The Travellers of Empire

A Corkscrew is Most Useful is a fascinating and richly detailed journey around the world as seen through Victorian eyes. At the height Queen Victoria’s British Empire, countless men and women set off to explore the known and unknown face of the globe, at the very same moment that the phenomenon of mass tourism was being launched by a Mr Thomas Cook. Their reasons for leaving Britain were as many and various as they themselves were. Some were searching for knowledge, adventure, fame, exotic animals to kill. Some hoped to be the first to stamp their mark upon a lake, a river source, a passage through the ice or an unknown inland sea; while others dreamed of bringing home archaeological specimens and ancient works of art of finding untold natural riches. Some travelled, as people have always done, for no reason at all except the sheer marvellous enjoyment of it - and so it seems some parts of the Empire are alive and well after all. This is a fascinating book, ideal for anyone with a penchant for travelling, even those doing so from their armchair.