Gabrielle Vassal Books

Gabrielle Maud Vassal (1880 - 1959) was the British wife of a French army doctor, Joseph Jean Vassal, and travelled with her husband first to SE Asia then to Gabon and the Congo. She was also a keen naturalist, who contributed bird and mammal specimens from Africa and Southeast Asia to the Natural History Museum in London. Several animals, including the yellow-cheeked crested gibbon, Nomascus gabriellae, were named after her. After the Vassals returned to France, she became a member of the French Resistance shortly after the outbreak of the WW2. She assisted with the escape of many downed airmen and received recognition from the British & American governments.

Life In French Congo by Gabrielle Vassal (1925) is an account of their medical work among the natives and in Brazzaville. They then proceeded into the interior to do a bit of big game hunting, Mrs Vassal bagging a buffalo with her single-shot Gras army rifle. There are also several photos of the game that her husband collected.

Three Years In Vietnam 1907-1910: Medicine, Chams And Tribesmen In Nhatrang And Surroundings by Gabrielle Vassal (1910) are the author's diaries which cover a great number of aspects of the life of Vietnamese, Cham and hill tribe people around Nhatrang as well as that of the life of a French medical doctor and his wife in colonial Vietnam. Gabrielle Vassal had a good eye for the position of women and for daily household life and used her keen sense of observation and inquiry to analyze what she saw.

On And Off Duty In Annam by Gabrielle Vassal (1910) covers her first impressions of French Indo-China, first glimpse of the Annamese, Saigon, the tropics and European life in Saigon. Life in an Annamese fishing village, Nha Trang, fighting with the insects, native habits, the market and daily routine. Free eBook

In, And Round Yunnan Fou by Gabrielle Vassal (1922) recounts her experiences as a tourist in China. Free eBook