If you would like to listen to a recording of the talk I gave recently at the Royal Geographical Society in London about the diaries of Thomas Atkinson, you can do so here.

My purpose in this talk was to highlight some of the findings I have made in the last few years as I have transcribed Atkinson’s diaries. These diaries cover the years 1847 until 1853. Unlike either of Atkinson’s two books, the diaries make extensive reference to both Lucy Atkinson and also to his son Alatau, born in what is now south-eastern Kazakhstan in November 1848.

They also contain descriptions of many incidents not mentioned in the books, including one occasion when Lucy was almost swept away in a fast torrent in the Altai Mountains. I have not been able to add the slides I used to illustrate the talk, but you should be able to understand most of the narrative. I hope to be able to publish the diary transcripts before long.

Many thanks to RGS Librarian Eugene Rae for organising this talk and also for taking the pictures of the diaries used to illustrate it. The pictures are under the copyright of the RGS.