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 .: Chiefly from His Unpublished Journals and Correspondence in the Possession of His Family

Published in 1880, this biography was written by William Garden Blaikie shortly after the death of the famous Scottish explorer and missionary, David Livingstone. The work was commissioned by Livingstone's family, who granted Blaikie exclusive access to a vast archive of unpublished personal journals, field notes, and private correspondence. Its creation was intended to provide a definitive and intimate account of Livingstone's expeditions in Africa, moving beyond the public reports he had previously published to reveal his personal reflections and religious motivations.

Blaikie designed the narrative to emphasize Livingstone's character and dedication, framing him as a quintessentially Victorian hero and a martyr for the causes of exploration and abolitionism. The book was well-received upon its release, praised for its scholarly rigor and the depth of its primary source material. It became a foundational text for Victorian-era travel literature, significantly shaping public perception of Livingstone's legacy and the complexities of nineteenth-century European interactions with the African continent.