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Too Late to Turn Back: Barbara and Graham Greene in Liberia
It has been Graham Greene's idea to explore tropical West Africa.
The map of Liberia was virtually blank, the interior marked 'cannibals'. It was a far cry from the literary London of 1935, and the marvellous result of exploration was Journey Without Maps. But the gifted young author was not travelling alone. His twenty-three-year-old cousin Barbara had rashly agreed to go with him and, unbeknown to him, was also busy making notes in the jungle.
Too late to Turn Back contains the humorous, foot-sore and richly evocative African adventure of a young woman who set out from the world of Saki and the Savoy Grill and returned quite profoundly changed.
The map of Liberia was virtually blank, the interior marked 'cannibals'. It was a far cry from the literary London of 1935, and the marvellous result of exploration was Journey Without Maps. But the gifted young author was not travelling alone. His twenty-three-year-old cousin Barbara had rashly agreed to go with him and, unbeknown to him, was also busy making notes in the jungle.
Too late to Turn Back contains the humorous, foot-sore and richly evocative African adventure of a young woman who set out from the world of Saki and the Savoy Grill and returned quite profoundly changed.
205 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1938
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August 3, 2018
”His brain frightened me. It was sharp and clear and cruel. I admired him for being unsentimental, but ‘always remember to rely on yourself,’ I noted. ‘If you are in a sticky place he will be so interested in noting your reactions that he will probably forget to rescue you.’ Physically he did not look strong. He seemed somewhat vague and unpractical...Apart from three or four people he was really fond of, I felt that the rest of humanity was to him like a heap of insects that he liked to examine...He was always polite. He had a remarkable sense of humour and held few things too sacred to be laughed at. I suppose at that time I had a very conventional little mind, for I remember he was continually tearing down ideas I had always believed in, and I was left to build them up anew. It was stimulating and exciting, and I wrote down that he was the best kind of companion one could have for a trip of this kind. I was learning far more than he realized.”
It all began with too much champagne at a wedding. Graham Greene, I’m sure in jest, asked his first cousin Barbara to go with him to Liberia. He’d asked nearly everyone else he knew and had been turned down with I’m sure a host of very weak excuses, but the elephant in the room, of course, was the question hardest to answer... why would anyone want to go to Liberia?
Barbara said yes.
The next morning after the bubbly haze of champagne had dissipated there was certainly buyers and sellers remorse.
She told Graham. “I’m sure Daddy won’t let me go.”
Daddy says. “Yes you should go have an adventure.”
Barbara and Graham Greene about to disembark.
Of course Barbara could have just backed down and Graham would have been relieved. He could have probably scared her with tales of cannibalism and disease and convinced her only a fool would come, but neither one of those things happened which indicates to me that Barbara had the fortitude to stand by her inebriated volunteering and Graham frankly still needed someone to go with him. As it turned out it was fortuitous that he did.
About three weeks into the trip Graham became seriously ill. As he became weaker Barbara became stronger. When he lost consciousness she feared the worse.
“Graham would die,’’ she later wrote. “I never doubted it for a minute. He looked like a dead man already … I was incapable of feeling anything. I worked out quietly how I would have my cousin buried, how I would go down to the coast, to whom I would send telegrams.’’
She took over all his responsibilities for the expedition. She told the porters what to do. She had him carried in a hammock. Instead of her steadfastly following him down the paths and through the elephant grass and shrubs she now lead the way.
Barbara Greene our Woman in Liberia
In the book that Graham wrote about Liberia called Journey Without Maps he downplays his illness. It is mentioned almost as much as he mentions Barbara which is to say not much. She is a shadowy figure, never mentioned by name in his book, but only referred to as cousin. On the other hand Graham is a towering figure in Too Late to Turn Back. She obsessively observes him with more than a tinge of hero worship. As Paul Theroux says in the introduction: ”He lives in her book as he does in none other that I know.”
”Graham had a little twitching nerve over his right eye. When he felt particularly unwell it would twitch incessantly, and I watched it with horror. It fascinated me, and I would find my eyes fixed upon it till I was almost unable to look anywhere else. I did not tell him about it, for I got to know it so well that I was able to gauge how he was feeling without having to ask him.”
It is always about the little things and one thing that drove Barbara to distraction was Graham’s ever slipping socks.
”Yes, I thought. There’s nothing to be done. Every day I shall have to walk behind him. For the first quarter of an hour I shall watch his socks slipping slowly, so very slowly, over his calves and down to his ankles, and there they will lie, useless, in little round wrinkles, like an old concertina. It’s too awful. I must put my mind on something else immediately, I thought firmly.
For the next quarter of an hour I was fairly happy. I had put my mind on smoked salmon.”
Barbara’s view for most of the trip until Graham became sick.
Barbara was a woman who admitted that she had flitted away her youthful twenties not doing much of anything. Servants drew her bath and cooks prepared her meals. Her time was her own because her father was wealthy enough that very little was expected of her. At the beginning of this trip she was 27 and by the end she would most certainly be able to say she had done something. She kept alive an important English writer who had many more brilliant books to write.
As the trip ground on she not only dreamed of smoked salmon, but Virginia hams, and lunch at the Savoy Grill. Rats ate her brushes so even the luxury of combing her hair was gone. Everything had to be secured at night because rats and insects would eat anything. A hot bath: god what would she have done for a hot bath? Books were scarce in this climate as the humidity turned them to mold and mush. She did bring copies of Maugham and Saki with her, but soon wished she brought something more challenging for her brain. Something to really take her mind off her sore feet, the stinging bites, and the ever present worry about disease.
”I had read in the British Government Blue Book a list of diseases that flourish in the interior of Liberia. I went over them in my mind. Malaria, elephantiasis, yaws, hook-worm, smallpox, dysentery. Did it also mention plague? I racked my brains and tried to see the print before my eyes. I listened to the rats rushing around my hut, and remembered that plague is carried by rats.”
The “Little Tart” outside Bassa Town that Barbara didn’t think Graham notice, but oh yes he noticed.
Of course she was an exotic in the interior of Liberia and she was informed by a beautiful king’s daughter: “My fadder says you very fine woman.” Bobby Howes is the king and as they pass wine around slowly becoming drunk the scene becomes more and more surreal. The room was full of the king’s wives and daughters.
”Some of the wives were very good looking and the daughters were lovely. They were lying in each other’s arms, or sprawling over the chief, who brushed them off from time to time, good-naturedly, as if they were flies.”
Skipping forward.
”We soon finished the bottle and were all in a pleasant haze. By this time I hardly knew what was real and what was not. The hut seemed to be fuller than ever of bare arms, legs, breasts, and rats.”
More time passes.
”The wives were leaning back on one another, laughing with the chief and giggling at Graham. The chief gaped at me, watched me with staring eyes. The moment had come, I could not help thinking, when he should burst into romantic song, One could hardly carry on with this scene without music.”
Things seem to teeter on the edge of god knows what.
”The hut was hot and stuffy, filled with the scent of black bodies, and almost overpowering in its atmosphere of sex and drunkenness. The chief was wearing some magnificent rings and bracelets. Without much hope I rather wished he would give me a few.
My fadder says you very fine woman.”
I think Barbara could have bargained for a few of those trinkets if she so desired... If you know what I mean.
I bought this book and Journey Without Maps a decade or more ago intending to read them together. It is rather rare to get two versions of the same trip. I decided to read Barbara’s book first because I felt that reading it after Graham’s book I’d be underwhelmed. Arguably, Graham Greene is one of the finest British writer’s, and certainly one of my favorites I can say now that I’ve finished both books that I did read them in the proper order. Barbara’s book is certainly more of a breezy affair, but so charmingly so.
Barbara kept a diary the whole trip, even bone tired she’d take a few moments to jot down her observations. She had never intended to write a book, but when her father became ill she started reading him passages to entertain him as he lay in bed. In the process she started to put her jottings into a more presentable form and the book Land Benighted (later changed to Too Late to Turn Back) was published. Graham of course was less than thrilled, but she did wait until two years after his book was published to publish her own. I also finished reading Graham’s book and a review is forthcoming. This book is a must read for fans of everything Graham Greene. Homage must be shown to the woman who stepped up when things were most dire and brought GG out of the jungle. Tim Butcher wrote a book following in the footsteps of Graham and Barbara and I will be reading that as well to form a trilogy of reviews.
Link to my Journey Without Maps Review By Graham Greene
If you wish to see more of my most recent book and movie reviews, visit http://www.jeffreykeeten.com
I also have a Facebook blogger page at:https://www.facebook.com/JeffreyKeeten
It all began with too much champagne at a wedding. Graham Greene, I’m sure in jest, asked his first cousin Barbara to go with him to Liberia. He’d asked nearly everyone else he knew and had been turned down with I’m sure a host of very weak excuses, but the elephant in the room, of course, was the question hardest to answer... why would anyone want to go to Liberia?
Barbara said yes.
The next morning after the bubbly haze of champagne had dissipated there was certainly buyers and sellers remorse.
She told Graham. “I’m sure Daddy won’t let me go.”
Daddy says. “Yes you should go have an adventure.”
Barbara and Graham Greene about to disembark.
Of course Barbara could have just backed down and Graham would have been relieved. He could have probably scared her with tales of cannibalism and disease and convinced her only a fool would come, but neither one of those things happened which indicates to me that Barbara had the fortitude to stand by her inebriated volunteering and Graham frankly still needed someone to go with him. As it turned out it was fortuitous that he did.
About three weeks into the trip Graham became seriously ill. As he became weaker Barbara became stronger. When he lost consciousness she feared the worse.
“Graham would die,’’ she later wrote. “I never doubted it for a minute. He looked like a dead man already … I was incapable of feeling anything. I worked out quietly how I would have my cousin buried, how I would go down to the coast, to whom I would send telegrams.’’
She took over all his responsibilities for the expedition. She told the porters what to do. She had him carried in a hammock. Instead of her steadfastly following him down the paths and through the elephant grass and shrubs she now lead the way.
Barbara Greene our Woman in Liberia
In the book that Graham wrote about Liberia called Journey Without Maps he downplays his illness. It is mentioned almost as much as he mentions Barbara which is to say not much. She is a shadowy figure, never mentioned by name in his book, but only referred to as cousin. On the other hand Graham is a towering figure in Too Late to Turn Back. She obsessively observes him with more than a tinge of hero worship. As Paul Theroux says in the introduction: ”He lives in her book as he does in none other that I know.”
”Graham had a little twitching nerve over his right eye. When he felt particularly unwell it would twitch incessantly, and I watched it with horror. It fascinated me, and I would find my eyes fixed upon it till I was almost unable to look anywhere else. I did not tell him about it, for I got to know it so well that I was able to gauge how he was feeling without having to ask him.”
It is always about the little things and one thing that drove Barbara to distraction was Graham’s ever slipping socks.
”Yes, I thought. There’s nothing to be done. Every day I shall have to walk behind him. For the first quarter of an hour I shall watch his socks slipping slowly, so very slowly, over his calves and down to his ankles, and there they will lie, useless, in little round wrinkles, like an old concertina. It’s too awful. I must put my mind on something else immediately, I thought firmly.
For the next quarter of an hour I was fairly happy. I had put my mind on smoked salmon.”
Barbara’s view for most of the trip until Graham became sick.
Barbara was a woman who admitted that she had flitted away her youthful twenties not doing much of anything. Servants drew her bath and cooks prepared her meals. Her time was her own because her father was wealthy enough that very little was expected of her. At the beginning of this trip she was 27 and by the end she would most certainly be able to say she had done something. She kept alive an important English writer who had many more brilliant books to write.
As the trip ground on she not only dreamed of smoked salmon, but Virginia hams, and lunch at the Savoy Grill. Rats ate her brushes so even the luxury of combing her hair was gone. Everything had to be secured at night because rats and insects would eat anything. A hot bath: god what would she have done for a hot bath? Books were scarce in this climate as the humidity turned them to mold and mush. She did bring copies of Maugham and Saki with her, but soon wished she brought something more challenging for her brain. Something to really take her mind off her sore feet, the stinging bites, and the ever present worry about disease.
”I had read in the British Government Blue Book a list of diseases that flourish in the interior of Liberia. I went over them in my mind. Malaria, elephantiasis, yaws, hook-worm, smallpox, dysentery. Did it also mention plague? I racked my brains and tried to see the print before my eyes. I listened to the rats rushing around my hut, and remembered that plague is carried by rats.”
The “Little Tart” outside Bassa Town that Barbara didn’t think Graham notice, but oh yes he noticed.
Of course she was an exotic in the interior of Liberia and she was informed by a beautiful king’s daughter: “My fadder says you very fine woman.” Bobby Howes is the king and as they pass wine around slowly becoming drunk the scene becomes more and more surreal. The room was full of the king’s wives and daughters.
”Some of the wives were very good looking and the daughters were lovely. They were lying in each other’s arms, or sprawling over the chief, who brushed them off from time to time, good-naturedly, as if they were flies.”
Skipping forward.
”We soon finished the bottle and were all in a pleasant haze. By this time I hardly knew what was real and what was not. The hut seemed to be fuller than ever of bare arms, legs, breasts, and rats.”
More time passes.
”The wives were leaning back on one another, laughing with the chief and giggling at Graham. The chief gaped at me, watched me with staring eyes. The moment had come, I could not help thinking, when he should burst into romantic song, One could hardly carry on with this scene without music.”
Things seem to teeter on the edge of god knows what.
”The hut was hot and stuffy, filled with the scent of black bodies, and almost overpowering in its atmosphere of sex and drunkenness. The chief was wearing some magnificent rings and bracelets. Without much hope I rather wished he would give me a few.
My fadder says you very fine woman.”
I think Barbara could have bargained for a few of those trinkets if she so desired... If you know what I mean.
I bought this book and Journey Without Maps a decade or more ago intending to read them together. It is rather rare to get two versions of the same trip. I decided to read Barbara’s book first because I felt that reading it after Graham’s book I’d be underwhelmed. Arguably, Graham Greene is one of the finest British writer’s, and certainly one of my favorites I can say now that I’ve finished both books that I did read them in the proper order. Barbara’s book is certainly more of a breezy affair, but so charmingly so.
Barbara kept a diary the whole trip, even bone tired she’d take a few moments to jot down her observations. She had never intended to write a book, but when her father became ill she started reading him passages to entertain him as he lay in bed. In the process she started to put her jottings into a more presentable form and the book Land Benighted (later changed to Too Late to Turn Back) was published. Graham of course was less than thrilled, but she did wait until two years after his book was published to publish her own. I also finished reading Graham’s book and a review is forthcoming. This book is a must read for fans of everything Graham Greene. Homage must be shown to the woman who stepped up when things were most dire and brought GG out of the jungle. Tim Butcher wrote a book following in the footsteps of Graham and Barbara and I will be reading that as well to form a trilogy of reviews.
Link to my Journey Without Maps Review By Graham Greene
If you wish to see more of my most recent book and movie reviews, visit http://www.jeffreykeeten.com
I also have a Facebook blogger page at:https://www.facebook.com/JeffreyKeeten
April 3, 2022
In 1935 Graham Greene planned a trip to Liberia - a little known country on the west coast of Africa, and was in need of a travel companion. When nobody else would accompany him, he accepted an offer made by his young cousin - after a few champagnes.
At any time an expedition in Liberia, travelling by foot with native guides picked up on the way, and carriers organised as best one can, is an impressive undertaking. Graham Greene, with his drive and unwillingness to compromise, and Barbara Greene, still finding her feet with her cousin, shows a willingness to make the hard miles too - in fact she seems to relish it.
The largest part of the appeal of Barbara Greene's book is the charm of her nativity. At 23 from a fairly privileged background, trekking in deepest Africa, where maps show no details other than a label of 'cannibals' she is for the most part in awe of her elder cousin. Graham deals with the guides and carriers, wrangling them when needed. He deals with the village chiefs on arrival in each town, organising accommodation for the cousins and the carriers, as well as food for the carriers. For the largest part Barbara is just tagging along.
Of course Grahame Greene wrote his Journey Without Maps about this journey, and cousin Barbara barely receives more than a mention. The other aspect he barely mentions is his illness - an illness Barbara is convinced at one point that Graham will die from. She plans her solo travel to the coast to be able to send telegrams advising family! Thankfully for all of us, Graham pulls through - soldiering on while not really recovering at all!
Graham Greene didn't know Barbara was keeping a diary, and reportedly wasn't too pleased that she converted that diary into a book and had it published. I suppose it shows him in a different light than his own book. Barbara says she only re-wrote it to share it with her ailing father, and it fell into the hands of a publisher who convinced her.
Of course, this would be best read alongside Journey Without Maps, a book I read in 2013, and gave 3 stars. I might get more if I was to re-read it, but you know - so many books, so little time. I find it very hard to justify a re-read with an abundance of unread books in my house!
I can't fairly apportion more stars to cousin Barbara's turn of events than Graham's own, so will have to award only 3 stars. This is a very gentle and charming read though, perhaps worth another!
At any time an expedition in Liberia, travelling by foot with native guides picked up on the way, and carriers organised as best one can, is an impressive undertaking. Graham Greene, with his drive and unwillingness to compromise, and Barbara Greene, still finding her feet with her cousin, shows a willingness to make the hard miles too - in fact she seems to relish it.
The largest part of the appeal of Barbara Greene's book is the charm of her nativity. At 23 from a fairly privileged background, trekking in deepest Africa, where maps show no details other than a label of 'cannibals' she is for the most part in awe of her elder cousin. Graham deals with the guides and carriers, wrangling them when needed. He deals with the village chiefs on arrival in each town, organising accommodation for the cousins and the carriers, as well as food for the carriers. For the largest part Barbara is just tagging along.
Of course Grahame Greene wrote his Journey Without Maps about this journey, and cousin Barbara barely receives more than a mention. The other aspect he barely mentions is his illness - an illness Barbara is convinced at one point that Graham will die from. She plans her solo travel to the coast to be able to send telegrams advising family! Thankfully for all of us, Graham pulls through - soldiering on while not really recovering at all!
Graham Greene didn't know Barbara was keeping a diary, and reportedly wasn't too pleased that she converted that diary into a book and had it published. I suppose it shows him in a different light than his own book. Barbara says she only re-wrote it to share it with her ailing father, and it fell into the hands of a publisher who convinced her.
Of course, this would be best read alongside Journey Without Maps, a book I read in 2013, and gave 3 stars. I might get more if I was to re-read it, but you know - so many books, so little time. I find it very hard to justify a re-read with an abundance of unread books in my house!
I can't fairly apportion more stars to cousin Barbara's turn of events than Graham's own, so will have to award only 3 stars. This is a very gentle and charming read though, perhaps worth another!
October 29, 2023
I read this as a companion piece to Graham Greene’s Journey Without Maps, as his cousin Barbara accompanied him on the same journey. I would have enjoyed this account on its own, but it had added value as a comparison to her cousin’s version. One word of warning though, the Kindle version that I read might be subtitled “Edition Without Maps”. I kept having to refer back to my copy of Graham Greene’s book to follow the journey being described in this one.
In the Wikipedia article about Journey without Maps, Paul Theroux is quoted as remarking how closely Barbara and Graham’s accounts match, whereas the late Jonathan Raban is quoted as saying that Barbara’s account contradicts Graham’s in almost every respect, including where they were, who they met etc. For what it’s worth I’m on Paul Theroux’s side in that argument. I was surprised at just how closely Barbara’s account matched Graham’s in terms of where they were and who they met, and even in relating the details of individual conversations with others.
There were a couple of differences. One is the way Barbara describes Graham’s undoubtedly serious illness, though it’s not so much that she directly contradicts Graham’s account as that he barely mentions it. The other is that Graham implies in his book that Barbara spent a lot of time being carried in a hammock, whereas Barbara tells us she only resorted to the hammock for 5-10 minutes every hour, to avoid exhaustion.
Where the accounts do differ of course, in is in their style. Barbara herself says that hers is perhaps a more straightforward travel book than her cousin’s more abstract account. Rather attractively, she confesses that she only agreed to accompany Graham after having drunk too much champagne at a family wedding. The next day she has to tell her father. He had made his fortune in the Brazilian coffee trade, having travelled out there as a young man.
‘Papa’, I said timidly, ‘I’ve done a very silly thing. I’ve told Graham I’d go to Liberia with him’. My father, after only a moment’s pause, said quietly but very firmly, ‘At last one of my daughters is showing a little initiative.’
Barbara’s account has a lot more humour than Graham’s, and there were sections that had me chortling, but she is also a bit more cutting in some of her descriptions of people they met, especially with the American widow they met in Zorzor. That said, in an account like this the reader looks for honesty rather blandness (at least, this reader does) and we can console ourselves with the thought the widow herself would never have seen what was written about her.
In their accounts, both Graham and Barbara express their initial delight at seeing rural Liberia, but I felt Barbara’s in particular conveys a sort of wide-eyed innocence during the first few days. Despite the rats, the diseases, the monotonous food etc, she never loses her overall positivity about the experience. I loved the way she concluded the book.
In the Wikipedia article about Journey without Maps, Paul Theroux is quoted as remarking how closely Barbara and Graham’s accounts match, whereas the late Jonathan Raban is quoted as saying that Barbara’s account contradicts Graham’s in almost every respect, including where they were, who they met etc. For what it’s worth I’m on Paul Theroux’s side in that argument. I was surprised at just how closely Barbara’s account matched Graham’s in terms of where they were and who they met, and even in relating the details of individual conversations with others.
There were a couple of differences. One is the way Barbara describes Graham’s undoubtedly serious illness, though it’s not so much that she directly contradicts Graham’s account as that he barely mentions it. The other is that Graham implies in his book that Barbara spent a lot of time being carried in a hammock, whereas Barbara tells us she only resorted to the hammock for 5-10 minutes every hour, to avoid exhaustion.
Where the accounts do differ of course, in is in their style. Barbara herself says that hers is perhaps a more straightforward travel book than her cousin’s more abstract account. Rather attractively, she confesses that she only agreed to accompany Graham after having drunk too much champagne at a family wedding. The next day she has to tell her father. He had made his fortune in the Brazilian coffee trade, having travelled out there as a young man.
‘Papa’, I said timidly, ‘I’ve done a very silly thing. I’ve told Graham I’d go to Liberia with him’. My father, after only a moment’s pause, said quietly but very firmly, ‘At last one of my daughters is showing a little initiative.’
Barbara’s account has a lot more humour than Graham’s, and there were sections that had me chortling, but she is also a bit more cutting in some of her descriptions of people they met, especially with the American widow they met in Zorzor. That said, in an account like this the reader looks for honesty rather blandness (at least, this reader does) and we can console ourselves with the thought the widow herself would never have seen what was written about her.
In their accounts, both Graham and Barbara express their initial delight at seeing rural Liberia, but I felt Barbara’s in particular conveys a sort of wide-eyed innocence during the first few days. Despite the rats, the diseases, the monotonous food etc, she never loses her overall positivity about the experience. I loved the way she concluded the book.
March 17, 2022
After reading Graham Greenes book this is simply amazing. It’s the part that GG was missing - it was more personal full of feeling and less of the aloofness from her cousin. She only got mentioned 11 times in GG’s book but she saved his life and her account of the story is more of a diary than Greene who perhaps overworked it? Yet in their own rights their both literary masterpieces and I definitely recommend especially if you’re interested in Africa.
February 8, 2011
Great stuff for Graham Greene fans, a cousin's (literally speaking and not in spy-lingo)view on their journey through the Liberia of the 1930'ties. For Graham Green it resulted in his book Journey without Maps. For his 23 year old co-traveller Barbara, who returned to pre-war London "a changed" women it delivered this humorous and spell binding book. A joy to read and a collecter's item
August 16, 2019
This is what might be called the companion volume to Graham Greene's rather dark book of his trip to Liberia, Journey without Maps. In that book, Barbara Greene has no name; she's merely mentioned a few times as 'the cousin,' which is rather extraordinary, since she travelled every step of the long walk through Liberia with Graham, and was involved in almost everything he was involved in.
Thankfully, she kept a diary of the journey, and some years later expanded it into this book, originally published under the title, Land Benighted.
There are times when you feel you're re-reading her cousin's book, but she always gives an extra insight into an event, or even into the sheer monotony of walking and walking for hours. And she's a different kettle of fish to Graham. She has no desire to look at Liberia and its people through a dark glass; her warmth shines through continually, even though she's very much a young woman of her time and wealth.
Thankfully, she kept a diary of the journey, and some years later expanded it into this book, originally published under the title, Land Benighted.
There are times when you feel you're re-reading her cousin's book, but she always gives an extra insight into an event, or even into the sheer monotony of walking and walking for hours. And she's a different kettle of fish to Graham. She has no desire to look at Liberia and its people through a dark glass; her warmth shines through continually, even though she's very much a young woman of her time and wealth.
July 24, 2023
Surprisingly good read. She’s a good writer and seems honest about her experiences. Different language would maybe be used today.
September 2, 2022
Many years ago I borrowed Graham Greene's book "Journey Without Maps" from the library and read in the introduction that Graham almost completely ignores his female cousin who accompanies him on the journey and saves his life. I felt I should read Barbara's account of the journey before I read Graham's, however the book was out of print with very few secondhand copies available.
When Daunt Books announced they were re-printing Too Late to Turn Back I ordered a copy.
The original title "Land Benighted" (In a state of pitiful or contemptible intellectual or moral ignorance, Over taken by darkness) sounds somewhat racist but it is actually a quote from Liberia's National Anthem (We'll shout the freedom of a land benighted).
Too Late to Turn Back refers to Graham leaving their medical kit behind when they boarded the train at Freetown, Sierra Leone (I think I would have got off at Bo and caught the next train back). Fortunately they had quinine and bicarbonate of soda with them (as well as whisky).
On the journey they meet missionaries, Mrs Croup at Zorzor - an overweight lady going crazy with the isolation - and Dr Harley and his family at Ganta - mourning the recent death of their younger son. These characters, in different ways, provide inspiration to Barbara Kingsolver for "The Poisonwood Bible" https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7...
Barbara Greene provides a lot of detail about the dancing and tribal customs which Graham skims over in Journey Without Maps. Anyone who has read Journey Without Maps, or who has an interest in Liberia should read Too Late to Turn Back.
When Daunt Books announced they were re-printing Too Late to Turn Back I ordered a copy.
The original title "Land Benighted" (In a state of pitiful or contemptible intellectual or moral ignorance, Over taken by darkness) sounds somewhat racist but it is actually a quote from Liberia's National Anthem (We'll shout the freedom of a land benighted).
Too Late to Turn Back refers to Graham leaving their medical kit behind when they boarded the train at Freetown, Sierra Leone (I think I would have got off at Bo and caught the next train back). Fortunately they had quinine and bicarbonate of soda with them (as well as whisky).
On the journey they meet missionaries, Mrs Croup at Zorzor - an overweight lady going crazy with the isolation - and Dr Harley and his family at Ganta - mourning the recent death of their younger son. These characters, in different ways, provide inspiration to Barbara Kingsolver for "The Poisonwood Bible" https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7...
Barbara Greene provides a lot of detail about the dancing and tribal customs which Graham skims over in Journey Without Maps. Anyone who has read Journey Without Maps, or who has an interest in Liberia should read Too Late to Turn Back.
February 1, 2023
Charming and unpretentious, but not very illuminating. Barbara turned out to be a very game and adaptable person for a pampered girl from an affluent family. Although the journey consisted exclusively of grueling treks through a monotonous and far from scenic jungle, she found plenty to delight her in folk dances and her interactions with their hired help and the local population. Rats bothered her a bit, the sight of people afflicted with venereal diseases, yaws or leprosy upset her occasionally, but mostly she soldiered on uncomplainingly, and only got really bored and listless when the end of the trip was in sight. Sadly though, she lacked genuine intellectual curiosity and sought no explanation for the huge discrepancies between the complete squalor of one village and the prosperity of the next. Mostly I was disappointed to learn so little about Graham Greene. Not a single of his observations is quoted in these pages. Barbara claims to admire his sang froid and resilience, especially as he gets iller and iller as weeks go by, but at no point do we get a glimpse of what one of the great writers of the twentieth century was feeling or thinking during this expedition.
September 10, 2024
This book tells of Barbara Greene's trek through Sierra Leone and Liberia with her cousin, Graham, in the mid-1930s. He told the story in his book, JOURNEY WITHOUT MAPS, and later, Tim Butcher, wrote about it in his re-tracing of their walk in CHASING THE DEVIL. Barbara captures so well the dreariness of the thick forest landscapes and the unique nature of each of the villages in which they stayed along the way. However, the colonial ideology of the time does creep into her writing from time to time, and is a bit jarring as she writes with fondness of most of the people she walks with and meets. Still, I found this to be a very perceptive and enjoyable book.
February 8, 2022
An account of the author (mid 20's non authorial lady), traveling with her cousin Graham Greene to Liberia, so he can make a buck writing about it. Love her matter of fact, no nonsense reporting on the trials and joys of this trip. While one is envying her bold spirit and cathartic adventures, one is also a bit relieved not to be there at times too (the rats, the bugs, the food - at times). Great reporting on what walking that distance is like - and their encounters with the locals and their negotiations with their own carriers / helpers (how many- maybe .... 8?). What a fun book!
March 11, 2018
An interesting and easy read account of Barbara Green's experience of Liberia with her cousin. I prefer to have more about the history/culture and a context of time through the journey, but here is a snap shot in time, which I will now be following up with Chasing the Devil, to find out about Liberia's more modern history.
August 29, 2024
In Grahams version his cousin Barbara who accompanied him on this gruelling trek is hardly mentioned so I enjoyed reading her perspective.
July 19, 2023
Neglected Books Yearly Readalong 2023 - June 2023
November 14, 2024
I thoroughly enjoyed this easy to read and fascinating tale of a trip to Liberia in the 1930s. I really liked the author's honesty and the simple matter of fact writing. Rarely for me I felt here is a book that could be longer.
Like so many others, this book has become a history lesson in itself as it records a world that is now lost to us. It is incredible that less than 90 years ago the interior of Liberia, and I guess maybe much of the world, was unmapped. However, and in this case I think because of the informality of the writing, you are also reminded that people themselves have not really changed.
Interesting to note are mentions of a pre-war Hitler and the activities in Liberia of the Firestone company.
Like so many others, this book has become a history lesson in itself as it records a world that is now lost to us. It is incredible that less than 90 years ago the interior of Liberia, and I guess maybe much of the world, was unmapped. However, and in this case I think because of the informality of the writing, you are also reminded that people themselves have not really changed.
Interesting to note are mentions of a pre-war Hitler and the activities in Liberia of the Firestone company.
March 24, 2012
Interesting, well-written account of the Greenes' adventures, especially in light of events to come a half-century later in that nation - there are references to the Americo-Liberians' imperialistic attitudes towards the indigenous people.
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