The Red Path and the Black Valley: George Borrow in the Isle of Man 1855. Notebooks and other materials edited in part by Angus Fraser and completed by Ann M. Ridler. (Lavengro Press Occasional Papers 8)

Wrappers. Edition limited to 100 numbered copies. George Borrow makes a fascinating travelling companion. "'Have you many witches', said I, 'in Man?' 'Plenty,' said the old fellow, 'but not so many as formerly. At one time Man was full of witches and wizards; one of the Kings of Man was a wizard, and a famous one too, and a good friend to the country, for when enemies came to invade it, he would raise by art witchcraft such clouds and vapours that it was impossible for anyone to see it. He was a giant and had three legs, and they are his legs which you see on the side of the steamer, for those three legs of his are the arms of Man.' 'What was his name?' said I. 'I believe he was called King Horry', said the old man . . ." Sir Angus Fraser part-edited these notebooks before his death, "and Ann Ridler, with customary thoroughness, has adorned and improved his work, adding six appendices, including Borrow's stepdaughter Henrietta Clarke's own account of the family excursion. Clarke is a genial companion ('I must now mention that strange grotesque animal the tailless Manx Cat or Rumpy as it is called, it resembles those in appearance described by Sir Stamford Raffles'), but less inquisitive than Borrow; however, as Ridler points out, she is a useful counterpoint to her stepfather, who often conveys the impression that he is a lone explorer on his antiquarian hikes, the fearless pedestrian pioneer. Other appendices include Andrew Dakyns on Borrow and T. E. Brown, and an essay by Ridler questioning whether Borrow made a return visit to the island in 1870" (The Book Collector).…