West African studies

'West African Studies' is a travelog and ethnography book that details the remarkable journey of Mary Henrietta Kingsley, an English explorer who challenged societal norms by traveling alone to West Africa to learn about the cultures and traditions of its people. With no husband or other European company, Kingsley gained the respect and trust of the African people and became one of the first non-African women to study and document their way of life. She encountered the horrific practice of twin killing and worked alongside Scottish missionary Mary Slessor to stop it, while also collecting specimens of fish previously unknown to western science and climbing Mount Cameroon. Kingsley's vivid writing style and droll humor in this book gained her prestige in the scholarly community and challenged European perceptions of African cultures and British colonialism.