Eothen - Softcover

A. W. Kinglake

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0712600329 ISBN 13: 9780712600323

Publisher: Century Publishing Co., 1982

Synopsis

While travel writing had already enjoyed a long and honored tradition in England, the publication in 1844 of Alexander Kinglake's Eothen forever changed the genre, and its influence may be traced down the generations from Robert Curzon's Monasteries of the Levant (1849) to Paul Theroux's Great Railway Bazaar (1975). Eothen--a Greek word meaning "from the east"--is certainly one of the most witty and idiosyncratic of travel books, for Kinglake was not as interested in the art, buildings, or appearance of a particular place than he was in the impression these made on him. And unlike most other wealthy travelers of his time, Kinglake took especial delight in the exotic and slightly danagerous aspects of his travel.
Avoiding the obligatory ports of call of the English gentleman's Grand Tour, Kinglake followed a circuitous route from Europe to what was then called the Near East--Turkey, the countries of the Holy Land, Egypt. Rarely does he make an effort to describe scenery, and some of the most well-known of his stops are hardly mentioned at all: Bethlehem he dismisses in thirteen lines, and Baalbec, well, "Come! Baalbec is over; I got 'rather well' out of that." But he devotes a whole chapter to the Sphinx--or rather to his contemplation of the Sphinx--and while he rarely imparts any information useful to future travelers, he constantly transforms his experience into a lively, reckless, sometimes unfair, sometimes moving, often hilarious artistic interpretation. It was this unusual and captivating style which so intrigued his first readers and made Eothen an enduring bestseller in his time; it is also what makes it a classic in ours.

About this title

From the Back Cover

Eothen ("From the East") recaptures a bold young Englishman's exploits in the Middle East during the 1830s. Alexander William Kinglake recounts his rambles through the Balkans, Turkey, Cyprus, Syria, Palestine, and Egypt in a style radically different from other travel books of his era. Rather than dwelling on art or monuments, Kinglake's captivating narrative focuses on the natives and their cities. His adventures―populated by Bedouins, pashas, slave-traders, monks, pilgrims, and other colorfully drawn personalities―include crossing the desolate Sinai with a four-camel caravan and a sojourn in plague-ridden Cairo.
A contemporary of Gladstone at Eton and of Tennyson and Thackeray at Cambridge, Kinglake offers a frankly imperialistic worldview. "As I felt so have I written," he declares in his preface, and his forthright expressions of his thoughts and impressions range in mood from confessional, to comic, to serious, to romantic. Victorian readers were captivated by Kinglake's chatty tone and his uncompromising honesty, and two centuries later this remarkable travelogue remains funny, fresh, and original.
Dover (2015) republication of the edition originally published by John Lehmann, Ltd., London, 1948.
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About the Author

Kinglake was an English historian and travel writer. He gave a unique touch to the genre of travelogue through his expression and style. He also had a flourishing business as a lawyer.

Edition details

• Publisher: Century Publishing Co.
• Publication date: 1982
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0712600329
• ISBN 13: 9780712600323
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 384