Edward Hamilton Aitken (EHA) Books

Edward Hamilton Aitken (EHA) books are an extraordinary record of the natural history of India written and illustrated in a completely different style from other naturalist books of the time. His observations on Indian wildlife and culture are written in an individual, humorous and informal style under the pen-name of EHA.

Edward Hamilton Aitken (1851 - 1909) was born in India as the son of a British missionary and worked in India for many years. He founded the Bombay Natural History Society. He entered the Customs and Salt Department of the Government of Bombay in 1876 and had to investigate the prevalence of malaria at the Customs stations along the frontier of Goa. He then discovered a new species of anopheles mosquito, which was named after him as Anopheles aitkeni.

Naturalist On The Prowl: Or In The Jungle by 'EHA', Edward Hamilton Aitken (1894) is based on studies in "the glorious forests of north Canara on the west coast of India" and first published in 'The Times of India'. It includes a leopard hunt episode and humorously illustrated by R A Sterndale.

Behind The Bungalow by 'EHA', Edward Hamilton Aitken (1889) "portrays with much pleasantry, the Human Officials of an Indian bungalow, with their peculiarities, idiosyncrasies, and, to the European, strange methods of duty." Free eBook

Tribes On My Frontier: An Indian Naturalist's Foreign Policy by 'EHA', Edward Hamilton Aitken (1883) is an hilarious account of the various insects and pests which form part of everyday life in the surroundings of a bungalow in colonial India. Free eBook

Concerning Animals And Other Matters by 'EHA', Edward Hamilton Aitken (1914) is a collection articles that appeared originally in the Strand Magazine, the Pall Mall Magazine and the Times of India. Posthumously published with a memoir of the author by Surgeon-General W B Bannerman. Free eBook

The Common Birds Of Bombay by 'EHA', Edward Hamilton Aitken (1900). With keen observation, imagination, elegant writing and vividness of description, a magnificent sense of humour, EHA makes his birds perfectly recognizable in the field without colour photographs. EHA picks out the special characteristics of each one of them and then drives home his point with unforgettable phrases. Free eBook

The Five Windows Of The Soul: Or Thoughts On Perceiving by 'EHA', Edward Hamilton Aitken (1898) was regarded by EHA as the best of his books and is self-revealing and full of thoughts.