The Tour of the Don (Annotated) - Volume 1 (Revised Edition)

The Tour of the Don was originally published as weekly parts in the Sheffield Mercury newspaper through the year 1836. It is based on a ramble along the length of the Don from its source in the Pennine hills, through Sheffield, Rotherham and Doncaster, until it joins the Ouse at Goole. The parts were republished as two volumes in 1837, and Volume 1 describes the journey from the moors to Sheffield. Diversions include descriptions of the main tributaries of the river, and vignettes of...
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The Tour of the Don was originally published as weekly parts in the Sheffield Mercury newspaper through the year 1836. It is based on a ramble along the length of the Don from its source in the Pennine hills, through Sheffield, Rotherham and Doncaster, until it joins the Ouse at Goole. The parts were republished as two volumes in 1837, and Volume 1 describes the journey from the moors to Sheffield. Diversions include descriptions of the main tributaries of the river, and vignettes of local characters, personalities, and legends. Though originally published anonymously, John Holland, a local poet and an editor of the Mercury, was later identified as the author. John Holland was born in Sheffield in 1794, and was appointed as the editor of the Sheffield Iris in 1825, following James Montgomery who had published a number of Holland's writings over the years. After a short break in Newcastle editing the Newcastle Courant, Holland returned to Sheffield and became the editor of the Sheffield Mercury in 1835, a post he remained in until the paper was closed in 1848. John Holland died in 1872. Holland was also the curator of the Sheffield Literary and Philosophical Society, and wrote a number of works on botany, geology, local history, topography and religion -- all of them subjects discussed in 'The Tour of the Don'.This version includes the edited and reformatted text of Volume 1, together with annotations, an index, and a preface outlining the origin of the book and something of the character of the author.