Friedrich Gerstacker was born in Hamburg in 1816. Inspired by the writing of Daniel Defoe, he set off for America in 1837 intending to become a farmer, and sent his mother a diary of his adventures. He returned to Germany in 1843 to discover that his mother had been publishing his diaries in a periodical to great popularity, and so his career as a best-selling writer began. Over the course of his adventurous life Gerstacker travelled to both the Americas, Tahiti, Indonesia, Egypt, and Australia. His trips were funded by a fruitful relationship with his publisher, and his considerable output was devoured by a legion of devoted readers, making Gerstacker a household name for many years. Friedrich Gerstacker died in 1872, suffering a stroke while preparing for a trip to Asia.
Peter Monteath, a Fellow of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, teaches History in the School of International Studies at Flinders University, Adelaide. His recent books include POW: Australian prisoners of war in Hitler's Reich, Red Professor: The Cold War life of Fred Rose (with Valerie Munt), Interned: Torrens Island 1914-1915 (with Mandy Paul and Rebecca Martin), and the edited collection Germans: Travellers, settlers and their descendants in South Australia.