The Virago Book Of Women Travellers.

(Hardback)

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Description

'A volume in which rich and unexpected seams of precious materials await discovery' Guardian

Three hundred years of wanderlust are captured in this collection as women travel for peril or pleasure, whether to gaze into Persian gardens or imbibe the French countryside, to challenge the fierce Sahara or climb an impossible mountain.

The extraordinary women in this collection are observers of the world in which they wander; their prose rich in description, remarkable in detail. Mary McCarthy conveys the vitality of Florence while Willa Cather's essay on Lavandou foreshadows her descriptions of the French countryside in later novels. Others are more active participants in the culture they are visiting, such as Leila Philip, as she harvests rice with Japanese women. Whether it is curiosity about the world, a thirst for adventure or escape from personal tragedy, all of these women are united in that they approached their journeys with wit, intelligence, compassion and empathy for the lives of those they encountered along the way.

Also includes writing by Willa Cather, Joan Didion, Vita Sackville-West, M. F. K Fisher, Christina Dodwell and more.

Reviews

A truly wonderful gift book for all armchair travellers . . . 300 years of wanderlust are captured by women who travelled the world - Books

Attractive and engrossing anthology of women's travel writing - Independent

A terrific anthology of women as warm in all corners of "abroad" - Scotsman

The 47 authors have been responsible for some of the very best in travel writing, the results of some extraordinary journeys. Many have become classics - Sunday Times

Author Bio

Mary Morris and Larry O'Connor have both travelled extensively throughout the world, both alone and together. They live together with their daughter, Kate.