A tour of the world in words: Bedside Companion for Travel Lovers

Take yourself on a literary tour of the world with this sneak peek into three wondrous journeys mentioned in the upcoming Bedside Companion for Travel Lovers by Jane McMorland Hunter, available to purchase now.

A Fine View

From The Country of the Pointed Firs, 1896 | 

Sarah Orne Jewett (1849–1909)

We were standing where there was a fine view of the harbor and its

long stretches of shore all covered by the great army of the pointed

firs, darkly cloaked and standing as if they waited to embark. As

we looked far seaward among the outer islands, the trees seemed to

march seaward still, going steadily over the heights and down to the

water’s edge.

It had been growing gray and cloudy, like the first evening of

autumn, and a shadow had fallen on the darkening shore. Suddenly,

as we looked, a gleam of golden sunshine struck the outer islands,

and one of them shone out clear in the light, and revealed itself in a

compelling way to our eyes.

The Coast 

From The Modern Traveller 

Hilaire Belloc (1870–1953)

Chapter IV

On June the 7th after dark

A young and very hungry shark

Came climbing up the side.

It ate the Chaplain and the Mate –

But why these incidents relate?

The public must decide,

That nothing in the voyage out

Was worth their bothering about,

Until we saw the coast, which looks

Exactly as it does in books.

Travelling

William Wordsworth (1770–1850)

This is the spot: – how mildly does the sun

Shine in between the fading leaves! the air

In the habitual silence of this wood

Is more than silent: and this bed of heath,

Where shall we find so sweet a resting-place?

Come! – let me see thee sink into a dream

Of quiet thoughts, – protracted till thine eye

Be calm as water when the winds are gone

And no one can tell whither. – my sweet friend!

We two have had such happy hours together

That my heart melts in me to think of it.

These globetrotting excerpts along with many other intrepid travel writings can be found in Bedside Companion for Travel Lovers edited by Jane McMorland Hunter is available to purchase now.

Illustrations by Elen Winata.