English Travel Writing

Travel writing has gained new appeal, and writers from the British Isles have been particularly productive and successful in this genre. This volume provides a concise introduction to the basic characteristics and historical development of travel writing as it has emerged in the British Isles from the Middle Ages to the present day. Examples considered include many classics such as Defoe, Sterne and Smollett, Isabella Bird and Mary Kingsley, Chatwin and Raban, and also lesser known representatives. Types of travel writing discussed include pilgrims' itineraries, exploration writing, tourist accounts as well as postmodern varieties.

Provides a concise introduction to the basic characteristics and historical development of travel writing as it has emerges in the British Isles from the Middle Ages to the present day.

The Times Literary Supplement - A.N. Wilson

[An] admirable lucid survey of English travel writing from the Middle Ages to the present...a fascinating subject.

Barbara Korte is Professor of English Literature at the University of Tübingen.