The Sea and the Jungle
A Tale Which Holdeth Children from Play and Old Men from the Chimney Corner
by H. M. Tomlinson
E. P. Dutton & Co., 1920, New York
CONDITION:
This book is in good condition. Hardcover. This is a used book with significant wear. Please take a look at the pictures to ascertain the condition and state of this book. The boards are worn along edges and corners with significant signs of shelf wear and some soiling. Rear cover bears an ex library stamp. Hinges tight. Binding square. Decorative endpapers. Ex library stamps on rear endpaper. The text block is crisp and clean.
ATTRIBUTES:
Hardcover. No dust jacket. Bound in cloth over boards. This is an ex-library book with typical markings such as card slots, stamps, decimal numbers, etc.
DESCRIPTION:
The Sea and the Jungle is a celebrated work of travel literature that chronicles a historic voyage undertaken in 1909. On the surface, the book presents a lighthearted account of a Londoner experiencing his first major ocean voyage; beneath this narrative lies a meticulously crafted journalistic record detailing the first successful ascent of the Amazon River and its tributary, the Madeira, by an English merchant steamer. The text explores themes of human curiosity, the immense and intimidating scale of the natural world, and the stark contrast between industrialized civilization and untamed wilderness.
The author, H. M. Tomlinson, was an esteemed British writer and journalist known for his maritime sensibilities, atmospheric prose, and deep-rooted fascination with the sea and distant lands. Having spent years working near the London docks before establishing his career in journalism, Tomlinson brought an acute eye for detail and an authentic voice to his travel writings. His distinct literary style combined sharp observation with philosophical introspection, allowing him to capture both the mechanical reality of steamship travel and the lush, overwhelming environment of the South American rainforest.
First published in the early twentieth century, the book has achieved enduring literary significance as a cornerstone of modern travel writing. It broke new ground by moving away from dry colonial reports toward a more reflective, highly stylized narrative form that influenced generations of subsequent writers. For book collectors, this title holds immense appeal as a classic masterpiece of adventure and environmental observation, representing a high-water mark in the genre of twentieth-century maritime and tropical exploration literature.
FLASHBACK TO 1920 WHEN THIS BOOK WAS PUBLISHED:
When this book was published in 1920, a weary world was picking up the pieces from the Great War while the newly minted League of Nations held its inaugural assembly in Geneva and American women finally secured the right to vote through the Nineteenth Amendment. In New York City, the booming jazz age collided with the dawn of commercial radio and the enforcement of Prohibition, even as acclaimed essayist H. M. Tomlinson continued chronicling the shifting tides of post-war global travel and literature.
Page Count: 371
Location: ABS-1-2-023