Seeing Europe with Famous Authors

The great beauty of Biarritz is its setting. At Monte Carlo the setting is also beautiful, ravishingly beautiful, but the architecture, the terrace, Monaco's rock, and all the rest combine to make the pleasing "ensemble." At Biarritz the architecture of its Casino and the great hotels is not of an epoch-making beauty, neither are they so delightfully placed. It is the surrounding stage setting that is so lovely. Here the jagged shore line, the blue waves, the ample horizon seaward, are what make it all so charming.
-from "Biarritz," by Francis Miltoun

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 IV continues the series' exploration of France and the Netherlands through the eyes and prose of a panoply of extraordinary writers: Henry Wadsworth Longfellow stays at a chateau in the valley of the Loire, Charles Dickens describes Marseilles, Victor Hugo visits Waterloo, and much more by such notable voices as Henry James, William Makepeace Thackeray, 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).