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Algeria and Tunis — Frances E. Nesbitt | English Illustrated EPUB
Algeria and Tunis — Frances E. Nesbitt | English Illustrated EPUB
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Algiers is such a city of contrasts, of dark memories and present prosperity, of Christian slavery and Christian rule, brilliant sun and tropical rain, of wide modern streets and networks of narrow alleys, with the slow dignity of movement of the old race and the rapid vivacity of their new rulers, that it makes all the difference in the world in what spirit and at what moment you arrive. At times the city is all sunshine, “a diamond in an emerald frame,” as the Arabs call it; at others only a dim outline is visible blotted out by the tropical rain.
When first we saw Algiers, after a dreamy, peaceful voyage from Gibraltar, the city was in its most brilliant mood. Having started in glorious spring weather, we watched the Sierra Nevada actually fulfilling all childish dreams of snow mountains, seemingly suspended in the soft cloudy distance with a suggestion of a double horizon, which some people called a mirage. Blue sky, bluer sea, still and calm,—nothing discordant but the notes of the bugle-calls to meals. By nightfall the mountains had faded away, and all we saw was a long line of blue African coast, mysterious and dim. But in the morning there was excitement and bustle enough, the bugles beginning at dawn—a lovely dawn and sunrise. Then the joy of coming into harbour and seeing the white terraces of the town gleaming in the sunshine. General impression all charm, brightness, and colour. The next time we felt the full force of contrast. Grey drizzling weather at Marseilles, a rolling sea, cold winds and general depression as the keynote of the voyage, to be followed by a late landing on a winter evening, the bright green of the hills dim with rain, the houses looking as grey and chill as ourselves standing forlornly under umbrellas on dripping decks, and almost wet through in the short run from the steamer to a carriage; for a downpour in Algiers is a downpour, just as sunshine is really sunshine, and not the faint flickering of light and shade we sometimes mistake for it at home. So that we could fully sympathise with our fellow-travellers’ distress, whilst remembering the loveliness we knew might return at any moment. In any case landing is rather a disappointment, because the first impression is so entirely French, with scarcely a touch of the East. The harbour, quay, and houses behind are all modern, and might belong to any city of southern France; the only difference at first is the sight of the boys, with their smiling faces and queer clothes, who fight for the privilege of carrying the luggage—such nondescript clothes, half European, half Eastern. Old coats, old boots, the coats generally too small, the boots too large, worn with a variety of Eastern garments and nearly always with a scarlet Manchester handkerchief wound round their heads.
Four original paintings from inside the book
Follow artist and traveller Frances E. Nesbitt from the streets and gardens of Algiers to the oases of the Sahara, the Roman remains of Timgad and Carthage, and the markets and mosques of Tunis and Kairouan. First published in 1906, Algeria and Tunis pairs an observant travel narrative with seventy of the author’s full-page colour paintings.
- Complete English text: all thirteen chapters, original captions, linked index, front matter and historical publisher appendices.
- All 70 original colour paintings, including the frontispiece, plus the original sketch map signed E. M. Carter and the historical binding.
- Reflowable EPUB with a linked contents and illustration list, a sharper original-scan map, and a matching new cover based on Nesbitt’s own artwork.
- English-language edition. A separate modern Arabic translation is also available.
Prepared and checked with AI assistance; no human proofreading is claimed.
Historical context: this 1906 travel account reflects colonial-era viewpoints and contains dated stereotypes and claims. They are preserved as part of the historical record and do not represent the publisher’s views or current scholarship.
Digital EPUB download only. No printed book or audiobook. The original paintings have historical scan resolution; they are not modern restorations.
Based on the original 1906 edition, which is public domain in the United States. International rights can differ, and worldwide clearance or exclusive rights in the historical material are not claimed.
