The Unveiling of Lhasa

Frozen ink, difficult roads, and the pressures of diplomacy shape Edmund Candler's account of the British expedition to Lhasa. Written largely during the campaign, the narrative combines observations of Tibet with an explanation of the mission's political background. Its contents move through frontier crossings, mountain valleys, transport problems, military encounters, and the city and temples of Lhasa.

Henry Newman's contributed account of Gyantse describes a cultivated valley with villages and monasteries before tracing the disruption brought by troops and fighting. Practical concerns about supplies and garrisons sit beside attention to the surrounding landscape. Candler writes from a British imperial perspective, making the book useful for readers interested in how the expedition was reported and justified by its participants. The mixture of travel description and campaign reporting also gives a sense of the physical conditions under which those accounts were made.