The Record of a Long Life

The Record of a Long Life, written in 1896, is the memoir of Henry Pilleau, army surgeon, traveller and artist.

Spanning most of the 19th century, it offers revealing insights into the changes in those years: from a description of his childhood home in Kennington looking out on an open expanse of countryside to his observations on the impact of tourism on the ancient marvels of Egypt.

He served in India before and after the Mutiny and in Ireland during the Great Famine and a Fenian rebellion. He records in fascinating detail the conditions in which he practised and the medical improvements he made.

The memoir is a rich kaleidoscope. On one page there is an amusing conversation with Constable about Turner's work; on another we read of hair-raising encounters with tigers. He reminds the Governor-General of India that they had been room-mates at school; he tells of an audience with the King of France immediately after an attempted assassination; he relates the sad story of a captured Andaman islander and his months as medical companion to a sickly 12-year-old Lord Herbert on an eventful trip to the Holy Land.

The novelist Charles Dickens, the billiards champion Kentfield, the unconventional Arabist Lady Duff Gordon and the actor Charles Kean all appear. But it is as an artist and a traveller that Henry Pilleau is at his most observant, never happier than when sketching in his favourite cities, Cairo and Venice.

This volume weaves his art into the pages of the memoir, the result being an engaging mix of social history and art.