There is a surprisingly rich resource of books on the West Indies.  Only a few books on the Caribbean are commonly found in bookshops but there are an enormous range of titles in existence.  There is a fine online bibliography of West Indies books, mostly sorted by author, compiled by Don Mitchell at http://books.ai

Books are carefully described but if you have particular concerns please e mail enquires to me.

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GREY Earl The Colonial Policy of Lord John Russell's Administration. Richard Bentley, London 1853 2 vols. xii + 473pp, iv + 414pp. 1st ed., mostly clean in original rather faded blindstamped cloth, showing wear to hinges and spine. Good sections on Guiana, Jamaica, St Lucia and Trinidad and sections on other countries within the Commonwealth. £200 HOBY J. Memoir of William Knibb, son of the Rev. W. Knibb, missionary, who died at the refuge, near Falmouth, Jamaica. Bristol 1840 99pp + 10 plates, 2nd ed., mostly clean apart from tone spotting to plates, in worn original cloth with slight damage to foot of spine. A very scarce book with attractive woodcuts of the Wesleyan chapels. £165 SEARLE C. In Nobody's Backyard. Maurice Bishop's Speeches: 1979-1983. A memorial volume. Zed Books 1984 260pp. 1st ed. Paperback. Fine. £5 BULKELEY O.T. The Lesser Antilles. A guide for settlers in the British West Indies, and tourists' companion Sampson Low, Marston, Searle, & Rivington, London 1889 207pp + 20pp adverts + 2 coloured maps and 3 folding plates. 1st ed., fine in original pictorial boards. A very scarce guide for travellers and intending settlers with chapters on each of the islands. Many attractive woodcut illustrations. £175 CHALKLEY T. Memoir of Thomas Chalkley. Chiefly extracted from a journal of his life, travels and Christian experiences, first published in America. W. & S. Graves, London 1817 68pp. Fine in modern ¼ leather binding. Quaker missionary who spent time in the West Indies and America with pasages on Barbados and Bermuda. £50 COLERIDGE H.N. Six months in the West Indies in 1825 John Murray, London 1826 328pp + engraved map. Second revised ed., very fine in original half calf with later marbled papers. Contains chapters on many of the islands. The work attracted a great deal of attention at the time. It was used by the Colonial Party in its contention that the negroe's state was not as bad as charged by the emancipationists. £145 EDWARDS B. Thoughts on the late Proceedings of Government, respecting the Trade of the West India Islands with the United States of North America. London, Printed for T. Cadell, in the Strand 1784 vi + 55pp. 1st ed., lacking end papers, very clean in later red cloth. On Colonial trade and the blockade of the U.S.A. Edward's first published work. Rare. £225 EDWARDS B. The history civil and commercial, of the British Colonies in the West Indies. To which is added, an historical survey of the French Colony in the island of St Domingo. Abridged from the history written by Bryan Edwards. London 1799 xvi + 373pp + 7pp publisher's catalogue + folded map. 8vo. A very good clean copy in contemporary quarter calf, marbled boards, joints and extremities a little worn. Small contemporary owner's inscription on title page. £295 EYRE L.A. Geographic aspects of population dynamics in Jamaica. Florida Atlantic Uni. Press 1972 172pp + plates. 1st ed., fine in D/W. £15 FINLASON W.F. The history of the Jamaica case, founded upon official or authentic documents, and containing an account of the debates in Parliament, and the criminal prosecutions, arising out of the case. Chapman & Hall, London 1868 4 + clxiv + 679pp. 1st ed. fine in original cloth. Inscribed on prelim, 'Presented by the wish of the late Edward John Eyre formerly Governor of Jamaica Dec 6th 1901.' A very scarce book on Jamaican legal history and the Morant Bay rebellion. £320 FROUDE J.A. English Seamen in the sixteenth century. Lectures delivered at Oxford Easter Terms 1893-4. Longmans, Green & Co., London 1901 309pp. Very fine in very fine old decorated half calf binding. Chapters on Drake and Hawkins, the expedition to the West Indies and the Spanish Armada. £60 GAMBLE G.M. Jamaica. Isle of June. Gale & Polden Ltd., Aldershot 1940 1st ed., fine in original green limp cloth. 12 poems with occasional line drawings. £18 HANNA Rev. S.W. Notes of a visit to some parts of Haiti, Jan, Feb, 1835 by the Reverend S.W. Hanna; island curate of St Georges, Jamaica. R.B. Seeley & W. Burnside & L.G. Seeley 1836 lxii + 153pp + 4 wood cut plates. 1st ed., very clean in later quarter calf with green boards. Small 8vo. Sabin 30232 £155 KINGSLEY C. At last. A Christmas in the West Indies. Macmillan 1880 401pp + plates. Very fine in contemporary decorated full red morocco prize binding of St George's College, Harrogate. The author gives his impressions of Trinidad. Many good line engravings. £75 LEWIS M.G. Journal of a residence among the negroes in the West Indies. John Murray, London 1845 184pp. Fine in modern half morocco. Fine description of the island written after the abolition of slave trade but before the freeing of the slaves. The author was much concerned with the welfare of the slaves and highlights the evils of absentee landlordism. £120 MADDEN R.R. A Twelvemonth's residence in the West Indies, during the transition from Slavery to Apprenticeship; with incidendal notes of the state of society, prospects, and natural resources of Jamaica and other islands. Carey, Lea and Blanchard, Philadelphia 1835 2 vols. 228pp + vii + 224pp. 1st U.S. edition. Some tone spotting throughout, end papers with owner's name otherwise good in original half calf with the original marbled boards. An important work by one of the stipendary magistrates on the island of Jamaica. £325 MARLES M. De Histoire descriptive et pittoresque de I'Ile Saint Domingue. Tours 1858 235pp + engraved frontispiece. Fine in highly decorative cloth with inset colour litho view on front board. A most attractive binding. £175 MONTGOMERY J. The West Indies and other poems. London 1810 160pp. third ed., fine in full leather with new spine. Long poem written in honour of the abolition of the African slave trade by the British Legislature in 1807. £50 PORTER J. Sir Edw. Seaward's narrative of his shipwreck, and discovery of certain islands in the Caribbean sea; with a detail of many extraordinary and highly interesting events in his life, from the year 1733 to 1749. William P. Nimmo, London 1878 634pp. Fine in decorated cloth. A fictional work which created a great sensation at the time as the editor asserted that the diary was genuine. When pressed on the matter, she said 'Sir Walter Scott had his great secret: I must be allowed to keep my little one.' Sabin 64323. £60 SCOTT M. Tom Cringle's log. William Blackwood & Sons 1862 vi + [2] + 528pp + frontispiece and 18 plates. Very fine in decorated green calf with raised bands. The author was a Scotsman who went to Jamaica in 1806. Although a work of fiction this work is based on personal knowledge of island life and gives a vivid picture of the old plantation days. Also includes section set in Cuba. £70 Previous page 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 Next page

Links to other West Indies sites

CaribSeek - The Caribbean Search Directory  

Caribbean Vacation Guide

http://caribbean-guide.info/

Make the Caribbean Guide your first stop for learning about the advantages of traveling to these gorgeous islands.

Family history of Jamaica

http://users.pullman.com/mitchelm/jamaica.htm

Sources of genealogy and historical information

Turks and Caicos Islands Museum

http://www.tcmuseum.org