Listenly

author

Charles Campbell

b. 1793

A remarkable memoir of hardship, ambition, and survival, following a self-educated Scottish laborer from the cotton mills to stormy voyages in the West Indies and medical study in Glasgow. Written from prison, it offers a candid and deeply personal account of a life marked by adventure, poverty, and tragedy.

1 Audiobook

Memoirs of Charles Campbell, at present prisoner in the jail of Glasgow : including his adventures as a seaman and as an overseer in the West Indies ... to which is appended, an account of his trial before the Circuit Court of Justiciary at Glasgow, 27th April, 1826.

Memoirs of Charles Campbell, at present prisoner in the jail of Glasgow : including his adventures as a seaman and as an overseer in the West Indies ... to which is appended, an account of his trial before the Circuit Court of Justiciary at Glasgow, 27th April, 1826.

by Charles Campbell

About the author

Born on April 2, 1793, in Tarbert, Argyllshire, Charles Campbell grew up in a working family and received much of his education through his own determination. After leaving school, he worked in a cotton mill while spending his evenings reading history, biography, travel, drama, and English classics. He also joined a literary debating society and tried, unsuccessfully, to publish a small volume of poetry.

Campbell later went to sea, traveling to the Bahamas and Jamaica, where he experienced storms, illness, poverty, and the harsh realities of colonial life. After returning to Scotland, he studied anatomy and chemistry at the University of Glasgow and practiced medicine for a time in the West Highlands. His memoir was written in Glasgow Jail in 1828 after more than two years of imprisonment, presenting his life story in a frank, reflective voice.