Gordon-Cumming, Eka (1837–1924)
Gordon-Cumming, Eka (1837–1924)
Scottish travel writer. Name variations: Constance Fredereka Gordon Cumming. Born Constance Fredereka Gordon-Cumming in 1837 in Altyre, Scotland; died in 1924; dau. of Sir William Gordon-Cumming, baronet of Altyre and Gordonstoun, and Elizabeth Maria (Cambell) Gordon-Cumming.
Began travels with visit to married sister in India (1867); was invited to serve as companion to Lady Gordon, whose husband, Sir Arthur Hamilton Gordon, was posted to the crown colony of Fiji (1874); traveled throughout Pacific, including islands of Hawaii, then to California and Sierra Nevada, followed by Egypt, China and Sri Lanka; an accomplished artist, produced over 1,000 paintings of subjects world-wide; wrote 8 very popular books about experiences, illustrated with her paintings, most popular of which were At Home in Fiji (1881) and A Lady's Cruise on a French Man-of-War (1882); also wrote From the Hebrides to the Himalayas (1876), Fire Fountains (1883), In the Hebrides (1883), California As I Saw It (1884), Granite Crags (1884), Two Happy Years in Ceylon (1892), Wanderings in China (1900) and Memories (1904).