Europe: An Intimate Journey

by Jan Morris

"EUROPE" has been widely acclaimed as among the finest achievements of 'one of our greatest living writers' (The Times). A personal appreciation, fuelled by five decades of journeying, this is Jan Morris at her best - at once magisterial and particular, whimsical and profound. It is a matchless portrait of a continent.

Genres: Travel, Nonfiction, History, British Literature, Italy

376 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1997

About the author

Jan Morris was a British historian, author and travel writer. Morris was educated at Lancing College, West Sussex, and Christ Church, Oxford, but is Welsh by heritage and adoption. Before 1970 Morris published under her assigned birth name, "James ", and is known particularly for the Pax Britannica trilogy, a history of the British Empire, and for portraits of cities, notably Oxford, Venice, Trieste, Hong Kong, and New York City, and also wrote about Wales, Spanish history, and culture.

In 1949 Jan Morris married Elizabeth Tuckniss, the daughter of a tea planter. Morris and Tuckniss had five children together, including the poet and musician Twm Morys. One of their children died in infancy. As Morris documented in her memoir Conundrum, she began taking oestrogens to feminise her body in 1964. In 1972, she had sex reassignment surgery in Morocco. Sex reassignment surgeon Georges Burou did the surgery, since doctors in Britain refused to allow the procedure unless Morris and Tuckniss divorced, something Morris was not prepared to do at the time. They divorced later, but remained together and later got a civil union. On May, 14th, 2008, Morris and Tuckniss remarried each other. Morris lived mostly in Wales, where her parents were from.

Reviews

[James Hartley · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful collection of memories, reflections, observations, history and biography told in bite-sized sub-chapters by one of the most elegant writers working in English.
From coast-to-coast, via rivers, dynasties, folk tails, music, architecture, back roads, mountains, tourist sites, borders, booze, food and customs, this book takes us all over the strange patchwork continent within a continent that is Europa, from pre-history, through wars and squabbles to mass tourism.
Anyone who lives in or has travelled to, or wants to travel to, Europe will get something out of this fascinating, fact-filled, contentious little tome. It is politely provocative, too, needling and never cosy and it will annoy you in places, in a nice way, but also improve you, rather like a wise teacher.

[E.T. · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5/5 Surprisingly delightful in many ways. This was a well-rounded travelogue of Europe covering religion, politics, history, connectivity and just the pure joy of travel. It was written in short bursts of connected sub-chapters of 1-2 pages. But, despite the format, it felt neither frivolous nor rushed. It felt like a literary work at times.
Will be reading more by the author for sure !

[Grant · Rating 5 out of 5]

Superbly written. So glad I learned of this book when reading Jan Morris’s obituary and remembrance. In a world that doesn’t allow travel at the moment books are the next best thing.

[Geraint Waters · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jan Morris has written another magical and lyrical travel book, this time a summary of her travels around Europe over a period of 50 years or more, written as a series of short and pithy observations of the people and cultures of Europe through a variety of themes. This is akin to taking a journey through time and geography in the accompaniment of a wonderfully articulate and inspirational writer and observer, to be picked up and enjoyed in short passages or in extended reads. The sort of book that you can just keep dipping into for repeated incisive analyses of what makes Europe such a fascinating place, all done with the sharp, witty and independent observation of someone who thankfully doesn't carry the cultural and historical baggage of many other writers. Framed between the solid and constant bookends of her beloved Welsh home and her love and fascination for Trieste, this book taken as a whole presents a sensitive and loving portrait of Europe in all its diversity, by a writer who understands and appreciates that diversity better than most. A marvellous read to which one can keep returning time and time again.

[jzthompson · Rating 2 out of 5]

Some nice bits but ultimately this was just a bit dull. Could have done with a harsh editor. Read like someone had just stuck a Dictaphone in front of Jan and let her ramble on a bit.

[GJ Monahan · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you like Jan Morris then you'd enjoy this book. It's a bit different from most of her work in that it's a collection of many short, separate observations and reminiscences - most of the "chapters" are just 1-2 paragraphs in length. It's a similar structure to her book "Contact!", but I liked this one better, because the chapters are organized around some coherent themes - such as religion, the rise and fall of certain countries as "powers," or different historical forms of exchange & communication which functioned like early versions of the internet.

[Kate Parr · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a nice, comfortable trip around the continent, nothing very controversial, hampered only by my copy having teeny tiny type so it felt like a struggle to get to the end. I generally enjoy her writing, though this more than her others felt dated, and she felt like a traveller of her time with some old fashioned ideas that made her sound a little patronising at times.

[Janez · Rating 5 out of 5]

AMAZING!!!!!

[Jonathan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Time spent reading Jan Morris is never wasted. Her travelogue/paean to Europe is simply not to be missed.

[Jamie Wilson · Rating 4 out of 5]

In the business of travel writing, Jan Morris is second to none.

[Kat · Rating 3 out of 5]

A little dated now, but a moderately amusing and educational trip through Europe that made me reach for the dictionary and atlas (ok Google and Google Maps). A little wiffly in the last chapter. The main issue I had with the book as a whole was the teeny tiny print, which made its 360 pages seem more like 600.

[Paul · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jan Morris at her very best, gliding through the varied echelons of European life, love, belief, diversion and much more, slowly weaving a picture of a continent that is both diverse and deeply interconnected.

[Peter]

wistful without being excessively ponderous; often hilarious, contemptuous at times: a pirouette of inverted snobbery as high art is performed on p.243.

[Marga · Rating 5 out of 5]

He querido dejar este libro como última reseña del año por todo lo que implica. Lo que daría por recorrer la Europa de Jan Morris entre menhires, catedrales y viejos amigos, retratados en músicos callejeros, bibliotecas escondidas, terrazas muy queridas e imágenes impregnadas de historia.
He viajado, he visitado, he recreado momentos personales, pero nunca había leído una comprensión de la sabiduría europea tan completa. Es un libro para leer despacio, para subrayar, para dejar reposar y tener siempre a mano. Para mí ha sido adictivo; sé que no lo será para todo el mundo.

Este no es un libro de viajes al uso ni una historia ordenada del continente. Es más bien como una conversación tranquila en una terraza, con una copa de vino, mirando Europa como idea, como herencia y como territorio emocional. Ni más ni menos.

Todo comienza en Trieste, en 1946, sentada frente al mar, escribiendo sobre la nostalgia (tan yo). Y es que Trieste vuelve a ser ese puente que une culturas, lenguas, historias y paisajes. En mi perfil tenéis una reseña sobre Trieste, otra obra de Jan Morris.
El libro avanza no por países, sino por las capas que han ido conformando el continente. En lugar de un recorrido geográfico tradicional , quizá lo que se espera, Morris organiza su mirada en torno a grandes ejes: lo sagrado y sus huellas persistentes, la mezcla étnica, lingüística y cultural, la construcción violenta de los Estados-nación, las redes de comunicación que atraviesan la Europa moderna, y, finalmente, los repetidos intentos de unidad, desde los imperios hasta la hoy. Redes visibles e invisibles que conectan el continente.
Cada uno de estos capítulos funciona como una mirada distinta que nos permite observar Europa de forma fragmentada, sus fronteras, sus eternos nacionalismos y las cicatrices que aún persisten, esos surcos que dejan las historias. No hay un itinerario geográfico al uso, sino un recorrido interior, hecho de recuerdos, observaciones y miles de preguntas que hoy siguen sin respuesta.
Me encanta leer a Jan Morris porque se implica. Su experiencia personal, como periodista, historiadora y una de las grandes voces de la literatura de viajes del siglo XX, la avala.

He leído muchas obras suyas y creo que su estilo es uno de los pilares fundamentales de su escritura. Su prosa combina precisión periodística y sensibilidad literaria, para mí, justo lo necesario para que la literatura de viajes encaje.
¿No os parece que Europa podría definirse como una obra inacabada? Parece un proyecto siempre en transformación, atravesado por memorias que no terminan de resolverse. Y es que Europa va mucho más allá de los discursos políticos o turísticos.
Espero que os atrevais con este libro. Es de esas historias que nunca acaban de leerse porque no solo son viajes sino de lugares y personas. En mi mesita de noche descansa para poder retomar estos “viajes” de vida

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I actually read this book in Europe, the greater part of it while sitting on the floor of a Swiss hotel room bathroom on a night when I couldn't sleep and didn't want to wake my mother by having the light on in the bedroom. It's a collection of anecdotes and observations about Morris' travels in Europe over the last half century. Almost all of them are well-observed, funny, poignant, or some combination of the above. I wish I were as good a traveler, or a writer.

[Iñaki Echarte · Rating 5 out of 5]

Magnífico libro. Jan Morris, apasionada viajera, rememora, durante una estancia en la ciudad de Trieste, todos aquellos lugares del continente europeo que ha pisado. Por medio de divertidas y singulares anécdotas nos cuenta los devenires de su vida y de los avatares del continente. Ninguno de ellos tiene desperdicio.
Muy recomendado.

[Stan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Personal journeys through Europe.