Reviewed by Anna Brinkmann

Reading about John Holman is like reading a Jane Austen novel that really happened. However, Holman is a far more nuanced and interesting character to read about than most of Austen's heroes. As described superbly by Roberts, Holman -- despite going blind at age 25 -- fully inhabits an insular, mannerly world that intersects the expansive unknown portions of the globe during the Age of Exploration.

A naval officer in Her Majesty's Service from the age of 12, Holman rises through the ranks to become a Captain before losing his sight. A fortunate posting to the position of "Knight of Windsor" keeps him in the role of "gentleman" at a time when blind people were considered appallingly and irredeemably handicapped. From this stage, set expertly by Roberts, the main body of the book launches into Holman's explorations.

Holman tackles the slopes of a mid-eruption Mount Vesuvius, vast stretches of Siberia, parts of Africa known as "the white man's grave," and completes a circumnavigation of the globe that had to be launched in secret, to keep his friends from forcibly detaining him. Roberts outlines the tale calmly; the plain content is too fascinating to require flourishes or dressing up. He does add rich historical context, which pulls the reader firmly into the universe of Holman's life and times, and it's a destination well worth the visit.