A Woman's Europe: True Stories

by Marybeth Bond (editor), Mary Morris (Introduction)

A Woman's Europe is a collection of inspiring and entertaining true stories by women about their travels throughout the Continent. Europe has always drawn Americans in part because so many of their ancestors emigrated from there. But Europe also has an irresistibly romantic appeal. It's a place of old-world elegance, with centuries of history, rich art and architecture. It is this romantic ideal that pulls more travelers to Europe than Asia or elsewhere, and that appeals to women in particular. These stories highlight women discovering peculiarly European pleasures - the romantic realities of a gondolier's life on a ride through the Venice canals; meeting a comforting Swiss matron when a village visit becomes lonely and confusing; the meaning behind rituals like picking olives or learning flamenco; and more.

Genres: Travel, Nonfiction, Short Stories

288 pages, Paperback

First published June 29, 2004

Reviews

[Jen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was disheartened at first by the introduction to this collection, which seemed too essentialist for my taste: "women just travel differently than men." Well, maybe, but if this was going to just be another collection of "quirky mishaps of the wandering woman" I was not going to be super into it. The actual collection is anything but--it's super thoughtful and covers a lot of ground--tracing family roots, living in two languages, solving problems that arise on the road, and making astute observations about art, literature, and everyday culture. Yes, it includes the more "female-specific" moments like when strange men approach you and you don't know what their intentions are, but these moments are embedded within more holistic narratives. I really appreciated that, and I ended up savoring this book.

[Chris Tilden · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Woman's Europe is a collection of several dozen relatively short (3-10ish pages) stories reflecting on travels in Europe. There are stories about finding long-lost (or never-met) relatives, meeting a new love, restoring historic buildings, or simply appreciating both built and natural resources/treasures that abound in Europe. The experiences also cover a considerable geographic expanse, including (but not limited to) England, France, Italy, Greece, Croatia, and many others. Very few of the writers were known to me prior to reading this book, but there were very few entries that I did not find enjoyable...and in many cases riveting. It's hard to encapsulate from the varied stories within this book exactly what made me enjoy it so much, but suffice it to say the marvelous writing in many of the stories made my vicarious travels through much of Europe (both places I have and haven't been) oh-so-pleasurable. I wish there were more volumes!

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Out of the Traveler's Tales Series, it is what I have come to expect: a mixed bag anthology of travelers in (mostly Western) Europe edited by Marybeth Bond. My favorite story was Just Chicken until I read Pope on a Rope Tow. Could have used a bit more regional variety - out of 37 of the stories 9 were about trips to France, 5 to the UK and 5 to Italy. 0 Portugal, Romania, Bulgaria, Belgium, The Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Denmark, former Soviet Republic countries other than Russia. 1 Croatia, Poland, Hungary, Czech Republic, Russia. In spite of that major complaint, the selection of stories was still very enjoyable. 4 *.

[ejs · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a wonderful book! Those of you that love to travel will enjoy the varied writings from women. This book made me want to travel to Germany to see the castles, Vienna, small Italian and Greek towns, England....just loved it. If you are a traveler (and after covid,especially), you will be anxious to get on the road!

[Nicki · Rating 2 out of 5]

Frustrating for me, as most of the shorts were too short and weren't enough of a deep dive into any particular experience. Disappointing.

[Pamela Hamilton · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good to pick up and read now and then. Gives you a chance to ascertain if you want to read more by the various authors.

[Elizabeth R · Rating 4 out of 5]

A friend lent me this book, and I enjoyed it very much, though I wouldn't have thought to buy it. I do like me some essays. The writing was excellent through and through. My only complaint was that some of the essays concerned event back in the 80s...not very current. Some of those stories were good, some less so. Overall, a well done book.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm not a big fan of short stories, so it took me a while to really get into this book, but once I did it was enjoyable. I have been to France, Spain, Italy and Ukraine, so a lot of the stories brought back pangs of nostalgia. Sigh...to be in Europe again, lol.

[Robin Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've had this book for years I think and just got around to reading it. I took it with me when I got called for jury duty. It was the perfect book as it is a collection of mini stories told by women traveling alone or with other women. Great stories.

[Bess]

Loving this! Great armchair travel: Paris, Venice, Rome and more.

[LaShelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some of the stories were good, some were lame. :-)

[Rolayne · Rating 5 out of 5]

cures my wanderlust....temporarily.

[Terri · Rating 3 out of 5]

I gave this 3 stars because some of the stories weren't very good. However the ones that were good were really good