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Travels with a Donkey in the Cevennes
Robert Louis Stevenson was not only a gifted writer, he was also an indefatigable traveller. His thirst for adventure was formed by his boyhood visits to remote Scottish lighthouses, and he spent much of his life fleeing the rigours of both cold climates and social orthodoxy. The walking trip that Stevenson describes in i]Travels with a Donkey in the Cevennes /i] (1879) w...more
Paperback, 95 pages
Published
November 1st 2009
by John Beaufoy Publishing
(first published 1879)
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Despite the advice and concerns of his wife and the friend dragged along on his last travel book, Stevenson decides to hike through rural France.
A couple days of hiking lead to the idea that he should buy a donkey to carry his baggage and everything will go smoothly.
Funny and entertaining, as Stevenson, who loves travel, but is a complete amateur stumbles through his travels. Gives us a look at the way the world was then, as he trudges through small villages and visits a monaster...more
A couple days of hiking lead to the idea that he should buy a donkey to carry his baggage and everything will go smoothly.
Funny and entertaining, as Stevenson, who loves travel, but is a complete amateur stumbles through his travels. Gives us a look at the way the world was then, as he trudges through small villages and visits a monaster...more
Rather than quote the whole book, here is my favorite passage:
A very old shepherd, hobbling on a pair of sticks, and wearing a black cap of liberty, as if in honor to his nearness to the grave, directed me to the road for St. Germain de Calberte. There was something solemn in the isolation of this infirm and ancient creature. Where he dwelt, how he got upon this high ridge, or how he proposed to get down again, were more than I could fancy. Not far off upon my right was the famous Plan...more
A very old shepherd, hobbling on a pair of sticks, and wearing a black cap of liberty, as if in honor to his nearness to the grave, directed me to the road for St. Germain de Calberte. There was something solemn in the isolation of this infirm and ancient creature. Where he dwelt, how he got upon this high ridge, or how he proposed to get down again, were more than I could fancy. Not far off upon my right was the famous Plan...more
Vic Heaney
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Recommends it for:
Anyone who likes reading about travel, adventure, good writing
We all know RLS from childhood days, especially the classic “Treasure Island”. We spend several months each year in New Zealand and have seen several documentaries about his later life in the South Sea Islands. Living in the French Pyrenees we havealso become aware of his”Travels with a Donkey”, especially as we have friends who have followed his trail, which seems to be a bit of a tourist industry these days.
So we have been learning more about him. Now we find that his adventures were...more
So we have been learning more about him. Now we find that his adventures were...more
I read this as mainly a primer for Tim Moore's book following in Stevenson's footsteps and was pleasantly surprised by how readable and entertaining it is.
Also surprised to find out that he is mostly following a route that takes him through an area of a Protestant rebellion from 200 years before, which I had never heard of. He muses on the whole Protestant versus Catholic thing, which is actually still a hangup of some Scots today.
The only negative was Stevenson's bad tem...more
Also surprised to find out that he is mostly following a route that takes him through an area of a Protestant rebellion from 200 years before, which I had never heard of. He muses on the whole Protestant versus Catholic thing, which is actually still a hangup of some Scots today.
The only negative was Stevenson's bad tem...more
Entre 3 et 4* en vérité mais pas mal de passages m'ont semblé traîner en longueur (notamment les descriptions de la nature - je n'ai rien contre mais il faut faire bref ;).
Voilà un récit inclassable dont j'ai bien du mal à dire quoi que ce soit. Il est intéressant à bien des titres : géographique, historique, ... C'est une expérience humaine riche qui nous est livrée aussi bien du point de vue de l'évolution intérieure de l'auteur au fil du voyage que du fait de ses rencontres divers...more
Voilà un récit inclassable dont j'ai bien du mal à dire quoi que ce soit. Il est intéressant à bien des titres : géographique, historique, ... C'est une expérience humaine riche qui nous est livrée aussi bien du point de vue de l'évolution intérieure de l'auteur au fil du voyage que du fait de ses rencontres divers...more
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This early work by RLS set the stage for travel books, and appears to have been the inspiration for Jerome K. Jerome's Three Men in a Boat (to say nothing of the dog). It's a delightful read from a master writer. We learn about the people of the Cevennes, the revolution fought there at the beginning of the 18th century (I'm sure you all remember studying it), the habits of donkeys, and the fact that RLS appears to have invented the sleeping bag. It's a really quick read, and worth the time.
This is a light, short read that follows Stevenson's trek through the Cevennes. His trusty, humorous sidekick is his donkey, Modestine who accompanies him throughout the journey. RLS of course writes wonderfully which makes up for the lack of any real plot or significant goings on in this book. And what a joy it is to feel what adventure travel would have been like back then. It is a rare window back in time.
Reading the Spanish version: Viajes con una burra. This is one of favourite authors.
Although this is not my favourite of his books, it is still a nice read.
Stevenson travels from Le Monastier to Saint Jean du Gard.
He takes the road to Gevaudan and arrives at Lozere, where he contemplates the mountains of the Cévennes. Florac, Cassagnas, St. Germain de Calberte, are some of the stops he makes in his journey.
He embellishes the narration with some historical accounts, speci...more
Although this is not my favourite of his books, it is still a nice read.
Stevenson travels from Le Monastier to Saint Jean du Gard.
He takes the road to Gevaudan and arrives at Lozere, where he contemplates the mountains of the Cévennes. Florac, Cassagnas, St. Germain de Calberte, are some of the stops he makes in his journey.
He embellishes the narration with some historical accounts, speci...more
I enjoyed this short travelogue of a 2 week hike in 1878 France, mainly for the beautiful descriptions of countryside and people. ...Stevenson was 28, stayed in a monastery for 3 nights, and a few inns, but mainly slept outside with his sleeping bag lined in blue fur.
So looking forward to taking this book on holiday with me. I love the story by Stevenson, and now it comes with a mouthwatering eating guide to the places in the original tale. Brilliant idea. Literature with an apetite.
Robert Louis Stevenson travels with a donkey through the Cevennes, he reflects on the suppression of Protestantism in the region, the book would have been a nicer read if he had been nicer to the donkey. Readable.
Bettie
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review of another edition
Recommends it for:
BBC7 listeners
Shelves:
french-root,
fraudio,
victorian,
spring-2010,
published-1879,
adventure,
autobiography-memoir,
amusing,
nonfiction,
travel
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This is a 1905 publication downloaded free from Google ebooks. I enjoyed the simple story of the author's tramp through France with his donkey, Modestine, although there was a little too much religious war history.
favorite passage:
To make matters worse, we encountered another donkey, ranging at will upon the roadside; and this other donkey chanced to be a gentleman. He and Modestine met nickering for joy, and I had to separate the pair and beat down their young romance with a renewed and feverish bastinado. If the other donkey had had the heart of a male under his hide, he would have fallen upon me tooth and hoof; and this was kind of a consolation -- he was plainly unworthy of Modestine's aff...more
To make matters worse, we encountered another donkey, ranging at will upon the roadside; and this other donkey chanced to be a gentleman. He and Modestine met nickering for joy, and I had to separate the pair and beat down their young romance with a renewed and feverish bastinado. If the other donkey had had the heart of a male under his hide, he would have fallen upon me tooth and hoof; and this was kind of a consolation -- he was plainly unworthy of Modestine's aff...more
I read this in anticipation of my trip to southern France and loved it--lots of funny observations and thoughts
Stevenson spends about two weeks driving a stubborn donkey through east central France. This is a wry, often hilarious narrative, but also has a marvelous description of a way of life that is now gone. This book is a real jewel.
I believe I read this after reading Travels With Charley, by John Steinbeck.
Book club read. Really struggled to complete reading this. Did not enjoy it
Last read this for A-level in about 1959. Very enjoyable read.
A Kindle freebie following the lead of others here.
vu chez Flo
Fiction
Sympathique...
Set in the hills of protestant southern France, a very fallible Stevenson leads, drags and pushes a donkey through the rocky lanes, a half bottle of wine swinging from the saddle bags. A perfect recipe for a travel book, actually one of the first books of its kind.
classic of travel literature, made me decide to drop everything and head to europe one summer in college and has influenced my philosophy of travel ever since, it's really not about the destination but about the process
If you want to read Stevenson's travel writing try The Amateur Emigrant, a distinctly better book though less well-known. Travels With A Donkey suffers from excruciating dullness.
I found RLS to be humorous and good natured in this book. It's a good window into nineteenth century travel on donkey-back through France.
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Robert Louis (Balfour) Stevenson was a Scottish novelist, poet, and travel writer, and a leading representative of Neo-romanticism in English literature. He was greatly admired by many authors, including Jorge Luis Borges, Ernest Hemingway, Rudyard Kipling and Vladimir Nabokov.
Most modernist writers dismissed him, however, because he was popular and did not write within their narrow de...more
More about Robert Louis Stevenson...
Most modernist writers dismissed him, however, because he was popular and did not write within their narrow de...more
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