A Narrative of the Expedition sent by Her Majesty's Government to the River Niger, in 1841.: Under the command of H. D. Trotter, R. N. Published with the sanction of the Colonial Office and the Admiralty.

London: Richard Bentley,, 1848. The expedition aimed to advance an abolitionist scheme First edition of this uncommon account of the British Niger Expedition, contains a useful history of Niger exploration, with excellent observations on the tribes and natural history of the region. The Niger Expedition was commissioned by the British Government to perform three primary tasks: firstly, to work towards the suppression of the slave trade by negotiating anti-slavery treaties with local chiefs, secondly, to explore the course of the River Niger, and thirdly, "to set up a model farm at the Benue-Niger confluence which would teach the local peoples the merits of agriculture and the blessings of Christianity" (Howgego). The expedition was promoted by the "Society for the Extinction of the Slave Trade and for the Civilization of Africa", an organization that was set up in 1839. However, the so-called 'river fever' brought an untimely end to the expedition and it was abandoned. The work was reviewed by Dickens, who heavily criticised the British expedition's method of abolishing slavery. He mercilessly dissected the British plan to establish a proto-colony and abolish the slave trade through treaties with the local chiefs. His trenchant review reflected his disillusionment with the international slavery reform efforts in Africa and America. This work was used as inspiration for the creation of the well-meaning but ineffective Mrs Jellyby in Bleak House. Provenance: gift inscription on the front flyleaf in volume one: "James Patrick Hadow, from his sincere friend Melgund. On his leaving Eton, Xmas 1862". Gilbert Eliot-Murray-Kynynmound, Viscount Melgund, 4th earl of Minto (1845-1914), served as governor-general of Canada, and later as viceroy and governor-general of India. The recipient, James Patrick Hadow (1844-1919), was born in Mumbai and later served as a barrister. This work also has a later ownership signature of one J. A. Hadow in each volume. Two volumes, octavo (215 x 135 mm). Contemporary polished calf, spines with raised bands, compartments elaborately decorated in gilt, green and red labels, double gilt fillets to covers, marbled endpapers and edges. Engraved frontispiece in each volume, and 14 similar plates (one folding), 2 folding maps, illustrations in the text. Rubbed with a few marks to covers, front cover of vol. II sunned at head, scattered foxing, folding plate repaired on verso with opaque tape. A very good copy. Howgego III T18. Timothy L. Carens, Outlandish English Subjects in the Victorian Domestic Novel, 2005; Charles Dickens, "Review: Narrative of the Expedition sent by her Majesty's Government to the river Niger in 1841", The Examiner, 19 August 1848.