This is the first biography written about Alfred Maudslay (1850–1931), who was inspired to follow John Lloyd Stephens and Frederick Catherwood in the next generation of exploration in the Maya world. The biographer and his subject seem a perfect match, since both men made major contributions to making possible the recent decipherment of the Maya glyphs. Even the two men’s lives have parallels: they are both British, both became involved with Maya studies in their thirties, and both received institutional support for their work only later in their careers. Ian Graham’s interest in Alfred Maudslay led him to locate a niece, who made many surviving papers and memorabilia available to him. On a solid documentary base of letters, journals, and publications by Maudslay, Graham wrote this biography years later, when his career allowed the time.
Graham begins with the Maudslay family’s rise to wealth with inventions in machine engineering. Alfred...
