Other editions of book The Purple Land

First published in 1885, "The Purple Land" is a novel by Argentinian naturalist and author William Henry Hudson. It tells the story of a young Englishman called Richard Lamb who elopes with a teenage Argentinian girl to Uruguay. Once there, Lamb sets off to find work, but instead finds himself at the centre of an epic adventure. This exciting and beautifully-written page-turner is not to be missed by fans and collectors of Hudson's wonderful work, and it would make for a worthy addition to any collection. William Henry Hudson (1841 - 1922) was an Argentinian naturalist, author, and ornithologist. He was one of the founding members of the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, and is best known for his novel "Green Mansions" (1904). Other notable works include "A Crystal Age" (1887) and "Far Away and Long Ago" (1918), which has since been adapted into a film. Many vintage books such as this are becoming increasingly scarce and expensive. We are republishing this volume now in an affordable, modern, high-quality edition complete with a specially commissioned new biography of the author.

William Henry Hudson was a true child of South America, born in Argentina in 1841. His parents had emigrated from the USA to begin sheep farming, and the young William grew up herding stock with local 'gauchos', the freedom-loving cowboys of the pampas, and studying the wildlife of the area. He also began writing, both for scientific journals, and increasingly, books containing his own thoughts and ideas on a wide variety of subjects. 'The Purple Land' is William Hudson's exuberant first novel. Set in the turbulent political times of Uruguay's birth, it tells the tale of European adventurer Richard Lamb, who elopes with the lovely Paquita, thereby earning the undying enmity of her powerful father. Desperate to support his wife, he sets off on a series of increasingly wild adventures that includes horse-stealing, a fight to the death, imprisonment and escape - and culminates in a pitched battle between the two main political parties, 'Whites' and 'Reds', with our hero unfortunately picking the losing side. In between, Richard manages to win the hearts of at least three Latin beauties, all of whom further complicate his already convoluted existence. But 'The Purple Land' is far more than a simple adventure story. Constructed as an early form of 'road novel', Hudson fills its pages with intimate sketches of the people and the customs of mid-nineteenth century pampas life, colourful vignettes set among his masterful depiction of the region's wildlife and its matchless natural beauty.

William Henry Hudson was a well-respected author and naturalist. Hudson was born in Argentina to two English settlers and he would eventually settle in England where he produced many ornithological studies. Hudson is now best remembered for books such as Green Mansions, The Purple Land That England Lost, and A Crystal Age. The Purple Land That England Lost, published in 1885, is a novel set in Uruguay that centers around a young Englishman who marries a teenage Argentinian girl without asking her father's permission. The young couple is then forced to flee to Uruguay.

Excerpt from The Purple LandWe are often told that an author never wholly loses his affection for a first book, and the feeling has been likened (more than once) to that of a parent towards a first-born. I have not said it, but in consenting to this reprint I considered that a writer's early or unre garded work is apt to be raked up when he is not standing by to make remarks. He may be absent on a journey from which he is not expected to return. It accordingly seemed better that I should myself supervise a new edition, since this would enable me to remove a few of the numerous spots and pimples which decorate the ingen ious countenance of the work before handing it on to posterity.About the PublisherForgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.comThis book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

Being the Narrative of Richard Lamb's Adventures in South America, as Told by Himself. "'The Purple Land,' is, like 'Green Mansions,' a story of adventure in South America; unlike the latter, however, it partakes so little of fairyland and is, ostensibly, so thoroughgoing a chronicle of real life that when first published it was reviewed in several instances under the classification 'Books of travel and geography.'...The reader follows the ragged hero through one adventure after another with an interest that intensifies as the latter nears the utterly simple goal toward which he is traveling amid perils of wilderness, of lawless settlement, and the typical South American revolution that is here portrayed with an intimate truthfulness rare among writers essaying the subject." -The New York Times "One of his earliest books was a narrative of 'one Richard Lamb's adventures in the Banda Oriental, in South America, as told by himself,' and it was called 'The purple land that England lost,' this allusive title referring to the blood that had been shed on the soil of Uruguay and to the fact that it might easily at one time have become a part of the British empire." -Boston Transcript "It is full of action, full of life and color, full of strange, picturesque people, and it is written with artistic simplicity and great charm." -Independent "In the book is all the rare perception of natural life and beauty, so exquisitely recorded 'Green Mansions.' There is humor, too, which "Green Mansions' lacked....Crass realistic love encounters - seemingly inevitable in a wild country - Hudson treats with the most consummate tact." -The New Republic "It is one of the choicest things of our latter-day literature." -James M. Barrie, author of Peter Pan "He did not write for effect, but to tell what really interested him. "The Purple Land' and 'Far Away and Long Ago' are full of his knowledge of the horsemen of the plains and include even talks with old men who remembered the British expedition to Uruguay in 1807." -The Outlook "There are, undoubtedly, a number of actual travel experiences woven in the delicate web of Mr. Hudson's narrative; but it is no more a 'book of travel' for that reason than the adventures of 'Don Quixote' or 'Gil Blas.' This South American story, indeed, reveals a delightful kinship with both these chronicles of old Spain. As with them humor and wisdom are charmingly blended throughout its pages. There are episodes filled with simple pathos, others that rock with laughter." -The New York Times Book Review "Lamb himself is a most attractive and versatile personage; chivalrous, sympathetic, susceptible, and impulsive; a blend of the poet, the fighting man, and the humorist; a great lover of nature, and, learned (like Mr. Hudson) in all the lore of trees and birds, snakes and insects; just the sort of hero, in short, who is bound by the gypsy strain in his temperament to meet adventure half-way, and by his adaptability, resourcefulness, and tact to extricate himself from the most perilous and compromising situations....Extraordinary charm. A more romantic recital of adventure would be difficult to imagine." -Spectator

Excerpt from The Purple LandWe are often told that an author never wholly loses his affection for a first book, and the feeling has been likened (more than once) to that of a parent towards a first-born. I have not said it, but in consenting to this reprint I considered that a writer's early or unre garded work is apt to be raked up when he is not standing by to make remarks. He may be absent on a journey from which he is not expected to return. It accordingly seemed better that I should myself supervise a new edition, since this would enable me to remove a few of the numerous spots and pimples which decorate the ingen ious countenance of the work before handing it on to posterity.About the PublisherForgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.comThis book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

William Henry Hudson was a well-respected author and naturalist. Hudson was born in Argentina to two English settlers and he would eventually settle in England where he produced many ornithological studies. Hudson is now best remembered for books such as Green Mansions, The Purple Land That England Lost, and A Crystal Age. The Purple Land That England Lost, published in 1885, is a novel set in Uruguay that centers around a young Englishman who marries a teenage Argentinian girl without asking her father's permission. The young couple is then forced to flee to Uruguay.