179 - Georgina Muir Mackenie and Adeline Paulina Irby: Travels in the Slavonic provinces of Turkey. London, 1877

Georgina Muir Mackenie and Adeline Paulina Irby: Travels in the Slavonic provinces of Turkey. London, 1877 Second Revised edition, in large 8vo, publishers green hard covers very slightly rubbed, complete in two volumes, 16 lithographs, 2 maps and two panoramas, 20 more illustrations in the text, text clean and bright, overall in very good condition. Τwo remarkable women, Georgina Muir Mackenzie and Adeline Paulina Irby, published one of the most influential travelogues in the history of Balkan studies.Mackenzie and Irby were not typical Victorian tourists. They spent years traveling through the Balkans, learning the local languages,mostly Serbian and Bulgarian, and immersing themselves in the lives of the Christian populations. They remark on the presence of a Greek elite among the local Christians. Their work was so respected that Gladstone used it as a primary source for his campaign against Ottoman misrule. At a time when Europe viewed the Balkans only through the lens of Ottoman diplomacy, Mackenzie and Irby brought the Christian soul to the forefront. They described a sophisticated, ancient Christian culture that was struggling to survive under what they termed Oriental stagnation. They focused heavily on the role of the Orthodox Church and the desire for education among the Christians. The second edition includes a lot of additional material from the newly then troubles around the Balkans.