author
Sir James Emerson Tennent
1804–1869
An Irish politician, traveler, and prolific writer, he brought distant places vividly to life for Victorian readers. Best known for his work on Ceylon, he combined public service with a lasting curiosity about history, nature, and empire.
5 Audiobooks
The Wild Elephant and the Method of Capturing and Taming it in Ceylon
by Sir James Emerson Tennent
Sketches of the Natural History of Ceylon
by Sir James Emerson Tennent
Ceylon; an Account of the Island Physical, Historical, and Topographical with Notices of Its Natural History, Antiquities and Productions, Volume 1
by Sir James Emerson Tennent
Belgium, Vol. 1 (of 2)
by Sir James Emerson Tennent
Belgium, Vol. 2 (of 2)
by Sir James Emerson Tennent
About the author
Born in Belfast on April 7, 1804, Sir James Emerson Tennent was educated at the Belfast Academy and Trinity College Dublin. Born James Emerson, he later added the surname Tennent after his marriage, and went on to build a varied career as a lawyer, Member of Parliament, and author.
He served in Parliament for Belfast and later Lisburn, and from 1845 to 1850 was Colonial Secretary of Ceylon, now Sri Lanka. That experience shaped some of his best-known books, especially Ceylon, a wide-ranging study of the island's history, people, and natural world that helped make him a notable Victorian travel writer.
Alongside politics, he wrote on Greece, Christianity in the East, and imperial affairs, bringing together first-hand observation and a strong taste for description. He was made a baronet and elected a Fellow of the Royal Society, and he died on March 6, 1869.