Letters of George Borrow to the British and Foreign Bible Society

These letters open a window onto the restless mind of a 19th‑century missionary who roamed from Norwich to the steppes of Mongolia and the roads of Mexico. Sent to the British and Foreign Bible Society, they blend scholarly debate about grammar with candid observations of distant peoples. Borrow’s lively pen makes the bureaucracy of translation feel like an adventure.

In his first missives he debates the adequacy of a Mandarin‑style version of the Gospel of Matthew, pointing out how borrowed Greek terms bewilder native Mandchou speakers. He also sketches a practical plan to render the Gospel of John for the Roma, noting the myriad dialects that separate even neighboring villages. The correspondence teems with humor, precise linguistic minutiae, and a palpable drive to bring scripture to unheard tongues.