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Untrodden Peaks and Unfrequented Valleys
In 1872, Edwards and a female companion set off on a "ramble" through the nearly impassable Italian Dolomites, where food and shelter were chancy propositions but the scenery was gorgeous and the people friendly and welcoming. Edwards approached the expedition with humor and enthusiasm, and she regales us with the tale of the journey with the generous, vivacious spirit that made her one of the her era's most daring women.
The district of the Dolomites, a mountain range adjacent to the Alps often over-looked by many, occupies the South-Eastern Tyrol, between Botzen, Brunecken, Innichen, and Belluno. Amelia B. Edwards winds her way through the peaks of these Northern Italian mountains, stopping in local inns and villages and experiencing a warmth and hospitality in the people that seldom is seen in this day and age. Edwards wrote this book more than century ago in 1873, when tourism has yet to taint this landscape with its crowds and hotels, leaving South-Eastern Tyrol for "those who love sketching and botany, mountain-climbing and mountain air, and who desire when they travel to leave London and Paris behind them." Edwards even goes on to argue that the Dolomites "offer a playground far more attractive than the Alps."
Not all is full of carefree pleasantries, as Edwards encounters everything from exhausting mule rides up steep slopes to nights in "the worst inn's worst room". Nonetheless, all of this only merely contributes to the sincerity of Amelia B. Edwards's travel log. Written by a female traveller, this take on trekking in the Dolomites is particularly unique for its time. For instance, she reiterates the indispensable need for women to ride sidesaddle while crossing the peaks on mule back. Edwards gives an honest impression of the country, leading the reader through every detail of her journey.
The district of the Dolomites, a mountain range adjacent to the Alps often over-looked by many, occupies the South-Eastern Tyrol, between Botzen, Brunecken, Innichen, and Belluno. Amelia B. Edwards winds her way through the peaks of these Northern Italian mountains, stopping in local inns and villages and experiencing a warmth and hospitality in the people that seldom is seen in this day and age. Edwards wrote this book more than century ago in 1873, when tourism has yet to taint this landscape with its crowds and hotels, leaving South-Eastern Tyrol for "those who love sketching and botany, mountain-climbing and mountain air, and who desire when they travel to leave London and Paris behind them." Edwards even goes on to argue that the Dolomites "offer a playground far more attractive than the Alps."
Not all is full of carefree pleasantries, as Edwards encounters everything from exhausting mule rides up steep slopes to nights in "the worst inn's worst room". Nonetheless, all of this only merely contributes to the sincerity of Amelia B. Edwards's travel log. Written by a female traveller, this take on trekking in the Dolomites is particularly unique for its time. For instance, she reiterates the indispensable need for women to ride sidesaddle while crossing the peaks on mule back. Edwards gives an honest impression of the country, leading the reader through every detail of her journey.
388 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1873
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125 people want to read
About the author
Amelia B. Edwards
307 books68 followersAmelia Ann Blandford Edwards (1831-1892) was an English novelist, journalist, lady traveller and Egyptologist, born to an Irish mother and a father who had been a British Army officer before becoming a banker. Edwards was educated at home by her mother, showing considerable promise as a writer at a young age. She published her first poem at the age of 7, her first story at age 12. Edwards thereafter proceeded to publish a variety of poetry, stories and articles in a large number of magazines.
Edwards' first full-length novel was My Brother's Wife (1855). Her early novels were well received, but it was Barbara's History (1864), a novel of bigamy, that solidly established her reputation as a novelist. She spent considerable time and effort on their settings and backgrounds, estimating that it took her about two years to complete the researching and writing of each. This painstaking work paid off, her last novel, Lord Brackenbury (1880), emerged as a run-away success which went to 15 editions.
In the winter of 1873–1874, accompanied by several friends, Edwards toured Egypt, discovering a fascination with the land and its cultures, both ancient and modern. Journeying southwards from Cairo in a hired dahabiyeh (manned houseboat), the companions visited Philae and ultimately reached Abu Simbel where they remained for six weeks. During this last period, a member of Edwards' party, the English painter Andrew McCallum, discovered a previously-unknown sanctuary which bore her name for some time afterwards. Having once returned to the UK, Edwards proceeded to write a vivid description of her Nile voyage, publishing the resulting book in 1876 under the title of A Thousand Miles up the Nile. Enhanced with her own hand-drawn illustrations, the travelogue became an immediate bestseller.
Edwards' travels in Egypt had made her aware of the increasing threat directed towards the ancient monuments by tourism and modern development. Determined to stem these threats by the force of public awareness and scientific endeavour, Edwards became a tireless public advocate for the research and preservation of the ancient monuments and, in 1882, co-founded the Egypt Exploration Fund (now the Egypt Exploration Society) with Reginald Stuart Poole, curator of the Department of Coins and Medals at the British Museum. Edwards was to serve as joint Honorary Secretary of the Fund until her death some 14 years later.
With the aims of advancing the Fund's work, Edwards largely abandoned her other literary work to concentrate solely on Egyptology. In this field she contributed to the ninth edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica, to the American supplement of that work, and to the Standard Dictionary. As part of her efforts Edwards embarked on an ambitious lecture tour of the United States in the period 1889–1890. The content of these lectures was later published under the title Pharaohs, Fellahs, and Explorer (1891).
Amelia Edwards died at Weston-super-Mare, Somerset, on the 15 April 1892, bequeathing her collection of Egyptian antiquities and her library to University College London, together with a sum of £2,500 to found an Edwards Chair of Egyptology. She was buried in St Mary's Church Henbury, Bristol,
Wikipedia: Amelia B. Edwards
Edwards' first full-length novel was My Brother's Wife (1855). Her early novels were well received, but it was Barbara's History (1864), a novel of bigamy, that solidly established her reputation as a novelist. She spent considerable time and effort on their settings and backgrounds, estimating that it took her about two years to complete the researching and writing of each. This painstaking work paid off, her last novel, Lord Brackenbury (1880), emerged as a run-away success which went to 15 editions.
In the winter of 1873–1874, accompanied by several friends, Edwards toured Egypt, discovering a fascination with the land and its cultures, both ancient and modern. Journeying southwards from Cairo in a hired dahabiyeh (manned houseboat), the companions visited Philae and ultimately reached Abu Simbel where they remained for six weeks. During this last period, a member of Edwards' party, the English painter Andrew McCallum, discovered a previously-unknown sanctuary which bore her name for some time afterwards. Having once returned to the UK, Edwards proceeded to write a vivid description of her Nile voyage, publishing the resulting book in 1876 under the title of A Thousand Miles up the Nile. Enhanced with her own hand-drawn illustrations, the travelogue became an immediate bestseller.
Edwards' travels in Egypt had made her aware of the increasing threat directed towards the ancient monuments by tourism and modern development. Determined to stem these threats by the force of public awareness and scientific endeavour, Edwards became a tireless public advocate for the research and preservation of the ancient monuments and, in 1882, co-founded the Egypt Exploration Fund (now the Egypt Exploration Society) with Reginald Stuart Poole, curator of the Department of Coins and Medals at the British Museum. Edwards was to serve as joint Honorary Secretary of the Fund until her death some 14 years later.
With the aims of advancing the Fund's work, Edwards largely abandoned her other literary work to concentrate solely on Egyptology. In this field she contributed to the ninth edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica, to the American supplement of that work, and to the Standard Dictionary. As part of her efforts Edwards embarked on an ambitious lecture tour of the United States in the period 1889–1890. The content of these lectures was later published under the title Pharaohs, Fellahs, and Explorer (1891).
Amelia Edwards died at Weston-super-Mare, Somerset, on the 15 April 1892, bequeathing her collection of Egyptian antiquities and her library to University College London, together with a sum of £2,500 to found an Edwards Chair of Egyptology. She was buried in St Mary's Church Henbury, Bristol,
Wikipedia: Amelia B. Edwards
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
July 15, 2018
3.5 stars (liked it)
This was an enjoyable read by author, Amelia Edwards, who was accompanied by her friend, Elle, and their trusty mules on a mid-summer hiking trip in the late 1800's through a mountain range in Northeastern Italy called the "Dolomites". I found her writing in this book similar to that of another female Victorian travel writer, Isabella Bird. As with Bird, Edwards excels in painting detailed pictures of her travel surroundings:
"And now the road leads through a succession of delicious grassy glades, among pine-woods loaded with crimson and violet cones, and festooned with the weird grey-beard moss of the Upper Alps. Wild campanulas and purple gentians, deep golden Arnica blossoms, pink Daphne, and a whole world of other wild flowers, some quite new to us, here bloom in such abundance that the space of green sward on either side of the carriage-way looks as if bordered by a strip of Persian carpet."
My one critique, and why I felt I could not give this book 4 or 5 stars, is that I wished she went further beyond what were mainly her visual observations of the landscapes/landmarks and also included more of her thoughts about what she saw, more about Elle beyond mentioning her name, more historical side-notes early on, more about those they met along their journey, and more on their traveling logistics (packing, etc.). Nonetheless, I would still recommend this to those who relish the idea of being temporarily transported from their favorite reading spot to an Italian summer mountainside!
This was an enjoyable read by author, Amelia Edwards, who was accompanied by her friend, Elle, and their trusty mules on a mid-summer hiking trip in the late 1800's through a mountain range in Northeastern Italy called the "Dolomites". I found her writing in this book similar to that of another female Victorian travel writer, Isabella Bird. As with Bird, Edwards excels in painting detailed pictures of her travel surroundings:
"And now the road leads through a succession of delicious grassy glades, among pine-woods loaded with crimson and violet cones, and festooned with the weird grey-beard moss of the Upper Alps. Wild campanulas and purple gentians, deep golden Arnica blossoms, pink Daphne, and a whole world of other wild flowers, some quite new to us, here bloom in such abundance that the space of green sward on either side of the carriage-way looks as if bordered by a strip of Persian carpet."
My one critique, and why I felt I could not give this book 4 or 5 stars, is that I wished she went further beyond what were mainly her visual observations of the landscapes/landmarks and also included more of her thoughts about what she saw, more about Elle beyond mentioning her name, more historical side-notes early on, more about those they met along their journey, and more on their traveling logistics (packing, etc.). Nonetheless, I would still recommend this to those who relish the idea of being temporarily transported from their favorite reading spot to an Italian summer mountainside!
July 1, 2019
I feel like in order to enjoy this book, you have to fully embrace playing the role of 19th century reader, reading in an era when travel books only had descriptions and a few sketches to bring places to life. Fortunately, this author is a good describer.
With the focus on the description, then, this book isn't big on thoughts and feelings. You only get little snippets of the parts of travel modern day travelers will relate to: reading guest books, a friendly guide, fellow travelers on the road. If you stick around to later chapters, you get rewarded by meeting my favorite character, a slightly genderqueer fellow traveler who chastises these women for traveling with guides.
There's also a lot of Victorian privilege baked in, sometimes hard to push through. She definitely sees people native to these places as scenery and gets upset when they don't cater to her culture. But I would be lying if I said that modern day travel writers don't fall into this trap.
Overall, I wouldn't give this to just anyone and it's not the easiest read ever, but I was grateful to spend some time in this world.
With the focus on the description, then, this book isn't big on thoughts and feelings. You only get little snippets of the parts of travel modern day travelers will relate to: reading guest books, a friendly guide, fellow travelers on the road. If you stick around to later chapters, you get rewarded by meeting my favorite character, a slightly genderqueer fellow traveler who chastises these women for traveling with guides.
There's also a lot of Victorian privilege baked in, sometimes hard to push through. She definitely sees people native to these places as scenery and gets upset when they don't cater to her culture. But I would be lying if I said that modern day travel writers don't fall into this trap.
Overall, I wouldn't give this to just anyone and it's not the easiest read ever, but I was grateful to spend some time in this world.
August 23, 2023
Amelia B. Edwards was one of the earliest professional women journalists and multi-talented. More famous now for her contribution in founding Egyptology than for her writing, nevertheless she was a prolific writer of novels and short stories and had many short stories published by Dickens in his journals over several years.
In this book we go over the Dolomites with Edwards and her friend 'L' and with the we experience the joys of travelling with mules, guides, dodgy hotels, pretty churches, indifferent food, terrible weather and beautiful scenery. It's a joy and Edwards is lively and intelligent company who writes with humour and precision. She loses a star though for too much description of mountains and waterfalls when I would have preferred more of her character description, hotels and food.
This is a matter of personal taste though and I remain a massive fan of Edwards.
In this book we go over the Dolomites with Edwards and her friend 'L' and with the we experience the joys of travelling with mules, guides, dodgy hotels, pretty churches, indifferent food, terrible weather and beautiful scenery. It's a joy and Edwards is lively and intelligent company who writes with humour and precision. She loses a star though for too much description of mountains and waterfalls when I would have preferred more of her character description, hotels and food.
This is a matter of personal taste though and I remain a massive fan of Edwards.
March 15, 2020
This book is loaded with vivid imagery of the Dolomites as well as a snapshot of its inhabitants during the late 19th century. I enjoyed the parts about the people more than the parts about the scenery, because I'm accustomed to seeing photos, but for someone with a knowledge of mountains and a good imagination the writing was very illustrative. It has definitely inspired me to want to travel there, though I'm sure things have changed a great deal since the book was written and a certain level of charm may have been lost to modernity. Beautifully written, and also enjoyed the blurb in my book about the author and her untraditional life as a traveling, academic woman.
July 20, 2024
Charming travel log. Very detailed and a bit repetitive, but Edwards is witty and at times quite funny. Some lovely poetic lines as well.
I read this before and during my own adventure in the Dolomites.
I read this before and during my own adventure in the Dolomites.
December 16, 2018
written over 100 years ago, this book gives insight into the area before access was simple. I wish it had some maps--I had trouble understanding exactly to where the author traveled each day.
August 12, 2020
Unique & wonderful; a firsthand account, light-spirited and duly admiring, of the rural Dolomite villages & landscapes in the 1870s!
May 11, 2021
Travel log.
June 28, 2013
This is a hard book to try and rate. I would rate it lower for general reading purposes, but I'm giving it a four as I read it in preparation for our trip to the Dolomites and enjoyed the descriptions of the area (and recognizing places from our last trip). The book was published in 1889 by an English woman who traveled through the Dolomites with a friend, various guides, and an ornery mule. Given the year it was published, I wasn't sure what to expect as far as writing. I found her writing very straightforward and I especially liked her opinions. She reminded me of a plucky heroine you might find in a novel and I got a kick out of her asides.
Both the strength and the downfall of the book is the detailed descriptions of her travels, landscape, people, accommodations, and food. I liked them as it helped me picture the Dolomites back then, but at times it felt a little tedious. Reading a catalog of details about the mountains and valleys is not as interesting as seeing pictures or maps. Miss Edwards does include some of her sketches, which I thought were good and added to the book.
While reading this book I couldn't help but to picture the author today - she would've written a hilarious and informative travel blog!
Both the strength and the downfall of the book is the detailed descriptions of her travels, landscape, people, accommodations, and food. I liked them as it helped me picture the Dolomites back then, but at times it felt a little tedious. Reading a catalog of details about the mountains and valleys is not as interesting as seeing pictures or maps. Miss Edwards does include some of her sketches, which I thought were good and added to the book.
While reading this book I couldn't help but to picture the author today - she would've written a hilarious and informative travel blog!
August 12, 2011
"UNTRODDEN PEAKS AND UNFREQUENTED VALLEYS" BY AMELIA B. EDWARDS
This novel takes you on a journey to places you have never been. The author writes with such conviction it makes you feel as though you are there with her.
The illustrations are drawn in sketch detail and add depth and even more realism. A truly deep-rooted adventure.
-Kitty Bullard / Great Minds Think Aloud Book Club
This novel takes you on a journey to places you have never been. The author writes with such conviction it makes you feel as though you are there with her.
The illustrations are drawn in sketch detail and add depth and even more realism. A truly deep-rooted adventure.
-Kitty Bullard / Great Minds Think Aloud Book Club
August 23, 2012
What a horrible woman Amelia Edwards is
I find her personality fascinating, because she's a window into the Victorian mindset, where it seems perfectly fair to carve strips off rural Italians for not knowing how to serve tea. At least this time she doesn't wonder why people are so upset her friend almost shot a child ("A Thousand Miles Up The Nile"). Well read in the Librivox edition.
I find her personality fascinating, because she's a window into the Victorian mindset, where it seems perfectly fair to carve strips off rural Italians for not knowing how to serve tea. At least this time she doesn't wonder why people are so upset her friend almost shot a child ("A Thousand Miles Up The Nile"). Well read in the Librivox edition.
April 12, 2014
Very detailed description of her hike through the Dolomites back in 1872. Having hiked this area myself, albeit not as extensively and in 2007, it was wonderful to experience again the beauty of the area and geology so unique.
September 27, 2016
The author describes her 19thC travels on a mule through the Dolomites. The observations of life, people, lodgings, mountain scenery are written with humour; as well as being knowledgeable and perceptive they make the reader want to retrace her steps.
September 6, 2021
préparation de vacances ou le séjour dans les dolomites vécu au 19ieme siècle. intéressant même si la naratrice est non alpiniste et anglaise ;-)
September 17, 2007
One of my favorite Victorian travel writers (and archeologists).
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews