A wild success in its first printing in 1897, this account of a naive Victorian woman's experiences in West Africa is fascinating, in part for its insight into prevailing turn-of-the-century Western ideas about the so-called "dark continent." Kingsley -- a genuine explorer -- writes with a self-deprecating wit and deadpan humor of her collecting expeditions throughout West Africa, Cameroon and Gabon. Abridged and introduced by Elspeth Huxley.  (WAF05, $14.00)