DAVID LIVINGSTONE, the dark interior

x + 332pp., illus., maps, slight foxing on f.f.e.p. and e.e.f.p., hardback edges rubbed on front cover, d.w., London, [1978] 

"Livingstone is one of the great figures of the Victorian age and although much has been written about him, his character still remains elusive. In this new biography Oliver Ransford reveals how Livingstone's ambivalent behavior, which has puzzled earlier biographers, arose from a manic depressive disorder. This illness affected him throughout his and explains his periodic changes of mood. He found great difficulty in working harmoniously with other Europeans whom he often persecuted with tireless energy, but it was in Africa amongst Africans that his true strength emerged. He was one of the earliest pioneers in Bantu linguistics, African botany, tropical medicine, and of new missionary methods which more than 100 years later have become axiomatic." Taken from the dustjacket.