The first edition in English of this informal narrative of the Freycinet voyage, the great French expedition to Australia and the Pacific commanded by Louis de Freycinet; it is also the first appearance in English of any account of the expedition.

The first edition in English of this informal narrative of the Freycinet voyage, the great French expedition to Australia and the Pacific commanded by Louis de Freycinet; it is also the first appearance in English of any account of the expedition.

Arago was the official artist on the voyage, and the lithograph plates here are all after his own drawings. His narrative is highly readable, not least because he entirely avoids the conventional forms of the voyage narrative, ignoring the "eternal repetition of winds, currents, longitude and lattitude". Full of wry humour, it takes the form of a series of letters to a friend. Long portions relate to Australia, with descriptions of Sydney, the Blue Mountains, and of meetings with Governor Macquarie and John Oxley. There is also a long account (almost 100 pages) of their stay in Hawaii at a crucial period in the history of the islands.

Despite the clear evidence of the 'Directions for placing the Plates' present here, there has been some unnecessary confusion about the collation of this book. Ferguson omitted the map from his plate count, while Hill erroneously called for a map and 26 plates. This copy, with the map and 25 plates is complete.