Helena Drysdale

An unusually well documented hybrid of family history and novel, based on the colonial lives of members of the Gascoyne family in 19th century India and subsequently in New Zealand. The Gascoynes had aristocratic connections without wealth and in consequence, the Gascoyne men naturally gravitated to military employment where they played a significant role in the colonial wars of India and New Zealand. Major Charles Gascoyne, the primary figure in the chronicle, distinguished himself in the show more Indian wars before settling in New Zealand with his wife Isabella and their children. Their son, Frederick, had a chequered career in the New Zealand militia during the Land Wars. Drysdale, who is a Gascoyne descendant had the benefit, after prolonged research, of extensive family correspondence and memoirs, in addition to the usual resources of public records and newspapers. Strangerland is absorbing for anyone who has an interest in 19th century colonial history. The prose style is variable, occasionally eloquent, and the chronology occasionally jumpy, a consequence probably of the wealth of resources available to Drysdale. She has the family historian's penchant for namedropping, leaving no aristocratic connection unmentioned, with occasionally ludicrous effect. When Isabella returned to England on the Broxbournebury, under the command of Captain Chapman, Drysdale records that she found him to be a perfect gentleman, one of the most charming men she ever met. Moreover, as if that were not sufficient recommendation, his wife Caroline was sister to the 'famous Sir William McNaghten...who would later propel the British into the First Afghan War, which saw so many of Isabella's friends slaughtered - including Sir William himself.' Isabella's sister in law Emily Campbell, widowed in Capetown, is the subject of a wonderfully laconic footnote before disappearing from the chronicle: she 'later married a son of Lord Egremont, but he spent all her money and was killed falling from a balloon into a lake in Bengal'. show less

Helena sets off with her husband and two young children to find those who speak languages that are fading. I loved the people she met, and their stories which are told with compassion, but her children drove me crazy...

An interesting account of minority languages in Europe. The author chose to travel round Europe in a campervan, with her family, and camp wild, sometimes in slightly dodgy spots. She certainly has a way of engaging with strangers to explore the story and she writes well. The book is also an opportunity to reflect on how language shapes our lives.

I'd liked Drysdale's book about Madagascar, so picked this one up when I saw it for sale at a used bookstore a while ago. A strictly socio-linguistic book would have been too dry, but this one, with it's travel-narrative framework was exactly what I was looking for. Barcelona came off as a scary place - they were burgled twice in a short period of time there.