1st Page of Review

 
This is a book review published in 1819 in the Edinburgh Review (Volume XXII, No. XILLL pages 107-129, 22 pp). It is a contemporaneous review of Golownin's two (2) volume Narrative of 1818, Narrative of My Captivity in Japan, During the Years 1811, 1812 & 1813: With Observations on the Country and the People, To which is added an Account of Voyages to the Coasts of Japan and of Negotiations with the Japanese, for the Release of the Author and his Companions, by Captain Rikord).

The reviewer traces the relations between Japan and Russia back to 1792 and the visit of Lieutenant Laxman to Japan, the Russian embassy to Japan in 1803 and a subsequent revenge attack by Russians on Japanese in the Kuriles. This is followed by an account of how Golownin was lured ashore by the Japanese under false pretenses of friendship and goodwill and taken prisoner, along with 6 members of his crew, by the Governor of Matsmai. The reviewer then traces Golownin's two years of captivity and rescue by Rikord. This is a comprehensive synopsis of a book that the reviewer found "Wearisome" but having:

...a variety of matter sufficiently curious to compensate in some degree the heaviness of the narrative.

The page size is 21 x 12.8 cm (8.25 x 5 in) (16mo).