Books and Travel

Inspiration, Quests and Transformation

By (author) Dr. Jennifer Laing, Dr. Warwick Frost

Publication date:

20 July 2012

Publisher

Channel View Publications

Dimensions:

210x148mm
6x8"

ISBN-13: 9781845413484

The books that we read, whether travel-focused or not, may influence the way in which we understand the process or experience of travel. This multidisciplinary work provides a critical analysis of the inspirational and transformational role that books play in travel imaginings. Does reading a book encourage us to think of travel as exotic, adventurous, transformative, dangerous or educative? Do different genres of books influence a reader's view of travel in multifarious ways? These questions are explored through a literary analysis of an eclectic selection of books spanning the period from the eighteenth century to the present day. Genres covered include historical fiction, children's books, westerns, science-fiction and crime fiction.

Chapter 1 - Introduction: Extraordinary Journeys

Chapter 2 - The Gift Shop at 221B Baker Street

Chapter 3 - A Misspent Youth (Children’s Fiction and Travel)

Chapter 4 - Murder They Wrote

Chapter 5 - The Past is a Foreign Country

Chapter 6 - No Country for Old Men

Chapter 7 - Once Upon a Time in the West

Chapter 8 - The Explorer’s Quest

Chapter 9 - Re-enacting the Past

Chapter 10 - Fantastic Journeys

Chapter 11 - Transformations

Chapter 12 - They All Lived Happily Ever After

Chapter 13 - Conclusion

I have read this book with great pleasure. Laing and Frost make a valuable contribution to a fascinating, fast-growing research domain. Based on a textual analysis of a wide range of literary genres, they show how literature – more than any other medium – stimulates the imagination and creates wanderlust among its readers. I can recommend this work to all scholars interested in the relationship between literature and travel.