Green, George, Esq. Journal From London to St. Petersburgh (sic) by Way of Sweden. London: T. Boosey, 1813. (224 pages)

George Green was an English merchant who lived in Russia from 1805 - 1807. He was a "real Traveler" who made "observations from the spot" (page iv). This book is a useful travel guide for Russian tourists of the early 19^th century. It includes important facts on cities, prices for provisions, miles between locations, coach rates, and even some vocabulary.

The book begins with a short history of Russia from the 1600’s until the time of his writing in 1808. He gives a brief description of the Russian rulers and their significance from 1700 - 1808. He retells how Russia was continuously plundered by the Poles, Swedes, Lithuanians, Tartars (Turkish speaking peoples of Asia and Europe) and the Tchoudes (peoples from Latvia, southern Estonia). He highlights the traumas of war by telling a local story of romance involving a young, beautiful woman named Stephania, the two men who loved her, Boris and Swioslow, and how these men had to defend her from the "hideous Swedes" (Page 35).
This point forward, the book becomes much more practical for the traveler. Focusing first on St. Petersburg, the book goes into great detail about the post offices, churches, canal and rivers in and around the capital city. Green gives the reader a detailed account of each of the ten districts (and their forty-two sections) that is arranged in the capital city. He informs the reader of Catherine’s Laws, which were created by Empress Catharine II and were established for "the preservation of individual society" (page 95).

Green ends his guide on St. Petersburg by listing various useful items. So the traveler would know how much money to bring, he lists the prices of provisions in the city in 1807; for example, the price of beef per pound = 1 copeck (page 130). So that the traveler would know how to pack for the visit, Green also lists the average highs and lows (in Celsius) for the year 1806.
Green then takes the reader on a journey through the Russian territories. He lists, in German miles, the distance between St. Petersburg and Mittau (Jelgava, Latvia) via Jambourg, Dorpat (Tartu, Estonia), and Riga. He also lists the coach rates between each city. His guide gives a brief overview of the inns and restaurants at each stop and what to expect in terms of cost.

Leaving Mittau, Green heads to Swedish Finland and then on to Sweden. He comments that Stockholm "is well worth the attention of a traveler" (page 170) and notes the impressive, square palace started by Charles XI. He then travels to Gottenburgh (Göteburg or Gothenburg in English), a large sea-port town where "two packets sail for England every week" (page 175).

Green’s traveler’s guide ends with the most practical of all information for a traveler. The last pages of his guides are an English-Russian vocabulary book, a listing of the Ordinal Numbers in English and Russian, the days of the week in both languages and finally, a listing of weights in both languages. Unfortunately, however, Green does not go into any detail about the lifestyles or livelihoods of the peoples along the way. He remains completely unbiased about the people and their governments. (For example, the Baltic provinces had been taken over by the Russians a mere 10 years before he wrote his guide, although he makes no mention of that fact.) (DQ 1005)