Sauntering: Writers Walk Europe

by Duncan Minshull (Editor)

On foot the world comes our way. We get close to the Continent's alpine ranges, arterial rivers, expansive coastlines. Close to its ancient cities and mysterious thoroughfares; and close to the walkers themselves--the Grand Tourers and explorers, strollers and saunterers, on their hikes and quests, parades and urban drifts.
Sauntering features sixty walker-writers--classic and current--who roam Europe by foot. Twenty-two countries are traversed. We join Henriette d'Angeville, the second woman to climb Mont Blanc; Nellie Bly roaming the trenches of the First World War; Werner Herzog on a personal pilgrimage through Germany; Hans Christian Andersen in quarantine; Joseph Conrad in Cracow; Rebecca Solnit reimagining change on the streets of Prague; and Robert Macfarlane dropping deep into underground Paris.
Contributors include: Patrick Leigh Fermor; John Hillaby; Robert Walser; Henriette d'Angeville; Joseph Roth; Joanna Kavenna; Richard Wright; Werner Herzog; Robert Antelme; George Sand; Rainer Maria Rilke; Robert Macfarlane; Rebecca Solnit; Kate Humble; Nicholas Luard; Edith Wharton; Elizabeth von Armin; Joseph Conrad; D. H. Lawrence; Vernon Lee; Guy Debord, Mark Twain, Thomas Coryat, and more

Genres: Travel, Nonfiction, Walking, Nature, Anthologies

160 pages, Hardcover

First published April 20, 2021

Reviews

[Elite Group · Rating 5 out of 5]

A brilliant little book to pick up and peruse at leisure.

A wonderful collection of authors like DH Lawrence, Edith Wharton and Mark Twain and composers like Ludwig Van Beethoven and TV presenters, like Kate Humble give us insight into the walks they’ve taken around Europe. Some of the stories are sad, some harrowing and others, bright and filled with sunshine – enough to encourage the laziest walker to lace up their boots, pick up a walking stick and map and head for the great outdoors.

Rony

Elite Reviewing Group received a copy of the book to review.

[Eugene · Rating 3 out of 5]

There is not much sauntering in this book. At times it seems there is not much walking of any kind. There are interesting vignettes but I am disappointed as I thought it would be much more about walking and flaneurs.

[Andy Weston · Rating 2 out of 5]

An inaccurate title, as the writers in this collection do not actually walk in Europe, or very few of them do.
I was really taken by the idea of this collection, and hoped to pick up some memorable passages, and even a few quotes I could use in my own writing, but the choices of writing, rather than the choices of writers (which is fine) is remarkably underwhelming.
From my own collection of quotes and passages about European mountains, I could come up with something at least as good.

Whymper, Nan Shepherd, Maupassant, Laura Ingalls Wilder, Lewis Carroll, Eudora Welty, Norman MacCaig, Grimm, Benjamin Myers, Cynan Jones, Edward Abbey, Wordsworth, John Muir, Florence Williams.. just to mention a few..

[Margarita Alvarez · Rating 3 out of 5]

This little slip of a book contains short stories and excerpts about walks through Europe. Although this was published in 2021, many of the pieces come from early in the last century as well as before that.

A friend gifted me the book because I had spent time walking the Camino a few years ago and she thought it would be a nice reminder of that walk. In some ways it was and in other ways I felt like I was in another world with the stories-one with cobblestone paths and oil-lit sconces. Some of the stories were written in such old English that I felt as if I needed a translator. But when an author mentioned walking through meadows, up a Rocky Mountain path, or on a gravel road, my mind went back to the Camino.

I especially enjoyed Robert Louis Stevenson’s “A Fever of the Feet” and Kate Humble’s “Radonnée Nocturne.” Stevenson’s excerpt made me feel as if I was walking along with him, hopping through different terrain and scenery, and enjoying the fresh brisk outdoor air (even though I never left my couch. This line reminded me of why I love to walk, ‘You become enamoured of a life of change and movement and the open air, where the muscles shall be more exercised than the affections.’ Humble’s piece was about walking with a group and how that can be such a different experience from walking alone. ‘As much as I treasure my solitary walks, walking in a group can be an equally illuminating, often transcendental experience.’ It is a night walk they embark on and the fact that it leads to a celebration at the end made me nostalgic for the days when I would finish my Camino and join the groups of friends for a meal and a vaso de vino. If only all of the stories were like theirs but others were a little more of a slog (like some walks can be), luckily they were short and I was on to the next story.

The end of the book provides quotes that capture the spirit of a walk and I’ll leave you with a favorite. ‘To saunter is a science. To saunter is to live.’ -Honoré de Balzac

[Mariko · Rating 5 out of 5]

A French word " flâneur " means a stroller. It might not be a big hobby in North America, but taking a walk is an important part of your everyday life in Europe. In this wonderful little book, writers you know, for example, Stowe, Kafka, Roth, Goethe ( of course ! ) , Heine, Twain D.H.Lawrence, etc.... oh, even Beethoven! write about their walking. These essays are great on their own, but it's also nice to know how they write in other style than you are more familiar with. This book is a Gem.

[Harrison Williams · Rating 2 out of 5]

Another Notting Hill Edition beautifully-bound book that, in my opinion, simply falls short. The book purports to provide selections of various authors dealing with the topic "Writers Walk Europe." While the book is only just over 150 pages long, it features more than 50 authors. As a result, each selection averages less than 3 pages in length, providing little context to most selections being included. While on a few occasions the selection led me to desire reading more of the author, generally I reached the opposite conclusion. I found this a frustrating read.

[S.P. Moss · Rating 4 out of 5]

This enchanting anthology contains short accounts of strolling, hiking, marching, adventuring, promenading, seeking, ambling and more from the 14th century to the present day, across the length and breadth, heights and depths of Europe. Some of the authors are household names, others less so, but all worthy of further investigation.

The book itself is beautifully produced - a delight to read with all the senses.

A perfect walking companion!

[Don · Rating 3 out of 5]

A better-than-average anthology with extracts (mostly good, some not particularly engrossing) from a broad selection of writers. As one might expect, biased to pre-20th century works - but if Robert Macfarlane (who is always good) is included, why not Patrick Leigh Fermor, Nick Hunt, Nicholas Crane and so forth? But the selection in any anthology can be debated.

[Dan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful!

[Steve · Rating 3 out of 5]

A nice short collection of stories involving walking in Europe.

[Andrew McLean · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sadly not as good as I hoped it to be.