National Network for Equitable Library Service

He was known simply as the "Blind Traveller"--a solitary, sightless adventurer who, astonishingly, fought the slave trade in Africa, survived a frozen captivity in Siberia, hunted rogue elephants in Ceylon and helped chart the Australian outback. James Holman (1786-1857) became "one of the greatest wonders of the world he so sagaciously explored": in his day a celebrity, a bestselling author, but one who outlived his fame and died in obscurity.