author

Arthur J. Hayes

An early-20th-century medical officer and travel writer, he is best remembered for a vivid account of a demanding journey through Sudan and western Abyssinia in search of the Blue Nile's source. His writing blends on-the-ground observation with the curiosity of an explorer watching a region of major political and geographic interest.

1 Audiobook

The source of the Blue Nile : a record of a journey through the Soudan to Lake Tsana in western Abyssinia, and of the return to Egypt by the valley of the Atbara, with a note on the religion, customs, etc. of Abyssinia

The source of the Blue Nile : a record of a journey through the Soudan to Lake Tsana in western Abyssinia, and of the return to Egypt by the valley of the Atbara, with a note on the religion, customs, etc. of Abyssinia

by Arthur J. Hayes

About the author

Arthur J. Hayes was a British author known for The Source of the Blue Nile (1905), a travel narrative about his journey through the Sudan to Lake Tsana in western Abyssinia, and his return by way of the Atbara valley. The book was published by Smith, Elder & Co. and includes illustrations, maps, and an entomological appendix by E. B. Poulton.

From the book's title page, Hayes is identified as L.S.A. (Lond.) and Medical Officer, Quarantine Office, Suez. That background helps explain the tone of his writing: practical, observant, and attentive not only to landscape and travel conditions, but also to local customs and the wider political setting.

Little biographical information beyond his authorship and medical post was easy to confirm from reliable sources available here. What does come through clearly is his role as a firsthand recorder of a difficult expedition, writing at a time when British readers were especially interested in northeast Africa, the Nile, and Abyssinia.