Henry Nelson Coleridge (1798 1843) was plagued with spinal problems and rheumatism throughout his life. The purpose of his six-month voyage around the Caribbean, although ostensibly for his health, was also a futile attempt to prevent his marriage to his beloved cousin Sara. Coleridge's thinly disguised references to Sara punctuate this light-hearted memoir, originally published anonymously in 1826. Coleridge compares and contrasts twelve different islands. Towns, villages, monuments, architecture, churches and plantations are described as he roams the islands freely, visits acquaintances and...