Norman Douglas was a multifaceted man of letters, having written scientific monographs, descriptive travel literature, memoirs, and several novels. He is best known in Europe for his travel writings, which are ranked with those of George Henry Borrow, Charles Montague Doughty, and T. E. Lawrence. In America he is best known for South Wind(1917), a novel which was quite popular in the 1920s and 1930s and is often called a minor classic. His erudition and his clear and entertaining style are almost universally praised. His personality and philosophy, which show through all his writings, are controversial and provocative. His ostensibly objective tone reflects his characteristic amalgam of aristocratic scorn and humane sympathy.

George Norman Douglas was born in Thuringen, in the Vorarlberg of the Austrian Tyrol, of Scottish and German descent. His father, Sholto Douglass, was the proprietor of a family-owned cotton mill. His mother, Vanda (Von Poellnitz...