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Publisher: Visidunu Prakashakayo, Boralesgamuwa.

Fifth Edition - To be launched at the Colombo International Book Fair, BMICH, September 10th-15th

Authored by Bella Sidney Woolf (sister of Leonard Woolf), How To See Ceylon was first published in 1914 - considered by most as the first pocket guidebook to the island. It was intended to help travelers "to fuller enjoyment and understanding of the island and its inhabitants". Indeed it proved to be so, considering that three more editions followed in the years 1922, 1924 and 1929 respectively.

The author enthusiastically recommends the best ways of motoring the "sunny roads of Ceylon"; she also does not miss describing the pleasures of the rail trips. Care has also been given to provide background/historical information of the places visited and also to provide general information on the island which "contains a wealth of interesting and mostly long-forgotten details of a bygone age of travel" to today's reader.

It also contains her own hints to travellers such as "Do not sleep under a fan unless a blanket is wrapped around your body", "...kurumbas and plantains are the only safe things to buy" and appeals such as "As you traverse this beautiful island, consider the life and limb of the villager".

Even more interesting are her observations of the inhabitants such as an "Every native carries an umbrella, not only for use but as a sign of respectability", "it is unfortunate that so many natives are adopting English dress, blind to the fact that it destroys all their individuality and Oriental grace". This interest in the people of this island has led her to the afterword titled "Soul of the people" which has made this travel guide one of its own.

Bella came to Ceylon in 1907 to visit her brother, Leonard Woolf - who was stationed in Kandy at that time. Later, in 1910 she got married to Robert Lock, the Assistant Director of the Peradeniya Botanical Gardens. She says "This book is in great part the embodiment of the most ideal journeyings that ever fell to a mortal's lot, and I can hope that it will help some others to an equal enjoyment of the many hundreds of miles that we motored together along the sunny roads of Ceylon".

After a lapse of over 70 years, the fifth edition of this book is brought out by Visidunu Prakashakayo at the Colombo International Book Fair held at the BMICH. This book contains a number of black-and-white photographs and a colour map of Ceylon - in addition, the new edition also contains an introduction titled 'Bella Woolf: Seeing The Exotic Other' by Richard Boyle.

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Copyright 2001 The Associated Newspapers of Ceylon Ltd.
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