Richard Henry Bonnycastle

Bonnycastle wrote several books which described the provinces in which he served as an officer, and later commander, of the Royal Engineers. This particular work, which is comprised of two volumes, focuses on Newfoundland; Bonnycastle's aim was to demonstrate the importance of Newfoundland as a British colony, and to provide an unbiased view of Newfoundland, as previous literature generally portrayed her as inhospitable and desolate. Volume one contains the general, political, natural, and physical history of Newfoundland, including information on the animals, vegetation, agriculture, and geology of the province, as well as the climatology and meteorology of the island, while volume two contains the moral history of Newfoundland and information on the province's current political economy, modern geography, and topography.