author
John Keast Lord
1818–1872
An adventurous 19th-century naturalist and travel writer, he turned years of fieldwork into lively books about wildlife, exploration, and life on the frontier. His writing mixes close observation with the energy of someone who had truly been there.
1 Audiobook
The Naturalist in Vancouver Island and British Columbia, Volume 1 (of 2)
by John Keast Lord
About the author
Born in 1818, John Keast Lord was an English veterinarian, naturalist, journalist, and author. He studied at the Royal Veterinary College in London, qualified in 1844, and later built a reputation less through conventional practice than through a restless, wide-ranging life of travel and observation.
He is especially remembered for serving as veterinary surgeon and assistant naturalist on the British North American Boundary Commission from 1858 to 1862. That work took him across the Pacific Northwest, where he collected specimens and gathered material that fed directly into his books, including The Naturalist in Vancouver Island and British Columbia and At Home in the Wilderness.
Lord died in 1872 at Brighton, England. His appeal as a writer comes from the blend of science, adventure, and firsthand storytelling in his work, which helped Victorian readers picture the landscapes and wildlife of North America.