The Personal Life of David Livingstone / Chiefly from his Unpublished Journals and Correspondence in the Possession of His Family

The biography reconstructs the personal and spiritual development of a nineteenth-century missionary-explorer through unpublished journals and correspondence, tracing his upbringing, theological and medical training, marriage, and years establishing mission stations in southern Africa. It follows his sustained fieldwork—building outposts, engaging local leaders, navigating conflict with settlers, and undertaking geographic and scientific observations—while emphasizing private devotion, endurance, and moral convictions. Letters and recovered journals illuminate daily labors, family ties, and internal motives, and the narrative interweaves missionary aims with natural-history study, presenting a portrait of resolute character formed by faith, philanthropy, and inquiry.