James Holman

author

James Holman

1786–1857

A Royal Navy officer turned celebrated travel writer, he became famous as the "Blind Traveller" after losing his sight and then journeying across much of the world. His books turned those remarkable travels into lively accounts of places, politics, and everyday life in the early 19th century.

2 Audiobooks

A Voyage Round the World, Volume I Including Travels in Africa, Asia, Australasia, America, etc., etc., from 1827 to 1832

A Voyage Round the World, Volume I Including Travels in Africa, Asia, Australasia, America, etc., etc., from 1827 to 1832

by James Holman

The narrative of a journey undertaken in the years 1819, 1820 and 1821 through France, Italy, Savoy, Switzerland, parts of Germany bordering on the Rhine, Holland and the Netherlands : comprising incidents that occurred to the author, who has long suffered under a total deprivation of sight; with various points of information collected on his tour

The narrative of a journey undertaken in the years 1819, 1820 and 1821 through France, Italy, Savoy, Switzerland, parts of Germany bordering on the Rhine, Holland and the Netherlands : comprising incidents that occurred to the author, who has long suffered under a total deprivation of sight; with various points of information collected on his tour

by James Holman

About the author

Forced to leave the Royal Navy because of illness, he later lost his sight completely, but that did not end his urge to explore. Instead, it became the beginning of an extraordinary second life as a traveler and writer, earning him recognition as the "Blind Traveller."

He traveled widely through Europe, Russia, Asia, Africa, and the Americas, often on his own, at a time when such journeys were difficult even for fully sighted travelers. He wrote several books based on those experiences, describing not just landscapes and routes but also the people, customs, and social conditions he encountered.

Remembered today as both an adventurer and an observer, he stands out for turning disability into a different way of knowing the world. His life has continued to interest modern readers because his travels were so ambitious, and because his writing preserves a vivid record of a rapidly changing century.