Seeing Europe with Famous Authors

Emerging from his hotel for a walk in the street, the tourist, even tho his visit be not the first, will note the ancient look of things. Here are buildings that have survived for two, or even five, hundred years, and yet they are still found fit for the purposes for which they are put.... Leaving a great thoroughfare for a side street, a stone's throw may bring one to a friend's office, in one of those little squares so common in the older parts of London. How ancient all things here may seem to him, the very street doorway an antiquity, and so the fireplace within, the hinges and handles of the door.
-from the Introduction

From the era from a trip to the Continent was rarer but more deeply appreciated comes an enchanting literary travelogue assembled from the hearts and minds of some of the greatest wordsmiths in the English language. A Grand Tour in 10 volumes, these delightful volumes, first published in 1914, gather little-seen essays from famous erudite explorers in compact collections that will inspire those who've never been abroad to make the journey, and move those who have to pack their bags again.

Volume I explores Great Britain and Ireland, viewed through the eyes and prose of a panoply of extraordinary writers: Nathaniel Hawthorne enthuses on the Houses of Parliament, Harriet Beecher Stowe describes a visit to Windsor Castle, Washington Irving makes a trip to Stratford-on-Avon, and much more by such notable voices as Augustus J.C. Hare, Sir Walter Scott, and others. Beautifully illustrated with charming photographs, it is a work to treasure... and to take along on your next trip.

OF INTEREST TO: armchair travelers, readers of classic literature



American journalist and historian FRANCIS WHITING HALSEY (1851-1919) was literary editor of The New York Times from 1892 through 1896. He wrote and lectured extensively on history, and also edited the two-volume Great Epochs in American History Described by Famous Writers, From Columbus to Roosevelt (1912).