A Quiet Evening: The Travels of Norman Lewis

by Norman Lewis, John Hatt (Introduction)

Here, like a treasure chest, are Norman Lewis’s most powerful pieces of writing, chosen by John Hatt. The polished gems of a whole life of writing on the road, reflecting a world now totally lost to us. From Yemen of the Imams to bandit chieftains, Neapolitan men of honor and tribal chieftains in Central America, as well as darker the doomed cultures of French rule in Indo-China, Cossacks being sent home to their death, and the quiet holocaust of the indigenous peoples in the jungles of South America. This is a book of immense range and power, informed by an extraordinary lightness of humor, humanity, and the telling detail.

Genres: Travel, Nonfiction, Essays

352 pages, Paperback

Published October 31, 2024

About the author

Norman Lewis was a British writer renowned for his richly detailed travel writing, though his literary output also included twelve novels and several volumes of autobiography. Born in Enfield, Middlesex in 1908 to a Welsh family, Lewis was raised in a household steeped in spiritualism, a belief system embraced by his grieving parents following the deaths of his elder brothers. Despite these early influences, Lewis grew into a skeptic with a deeply observant eye, fascinated by cultures on the margins of the modern world.
His early adulthood was marked by various professions—including wedding photographer, umbrella wholesaler, and even motorcycle racer—before he served in the British Army during World War II. His wartime experiences in Algiers, Tunisia, and especially Naples provided the basis for one of his most celebrated books, Naples '44, widely praised as one of the finest firsthand accounts of the war. His writing blended keen observation with empathy and dry wit, traits that defined all of his travel works.
Lewis had a deep affinity for threatened cultures and traditional ways of life. His travels took him across Southeast Asia, Latin America, and the Mediterranean. Among his most important books are A Dragon Apparent, an evocative portrait of French Indochina before the Vietnam War; Golden Earth, on postwar Burma; An Empire of the East, set in Indonesia; and A Goddess in the Stones, about the tribal communities of India. In Sicily, he explored the culture and reach of the Mafia in The Honoured Society and In Sicily, offering insight without sensationalism.
In 1969, his article “Genocide in Brazil,” detailing atrocities committed against Indigenous tribes, led directly to the formation of Survival International, an organization committed to protecting tribal peoples worldwide. Lewis often cited this as the most meaningful achievement of his career, expressing lifelong concern for the destructive influence of missionary activity and modernization on indigenous societies.
Though Lewis also wrote fiction, his literary reputation rests primarily on his travel writing, which was widely admired for its moral clarity, understated style, and commitment to giving voice to overlooked communities. He remained an unshakable realist throughout his life, famously stating, “I do not believe in belief,” though he found deep joy in simply being alive.
Lewis died in 2003 in Essex, survived by his third wife Lesley and their son Gawaine, as well as five other children from previous marriages.

Reviews

[Ian · Rating 4 out of 5]

A collection of essays and articles by the 20th century travel writer Norman Lewis. They cover quite a range of subjects. Many are wistful pieces about parts of the world that had a particular charm and character, now lost. Others are political polemics. Some are pen-pictures of people he met. The guy led an interesting life!

In common with many travellers, Lewis valued those parts of the world that were less modern, and which had preserved their traditional cultures. The early entries are mostly set in Italy and Spain during the 1950s and 1960s. The locations for the Italian essays were Sicily, Sardinia, Naples and a village in the Abruzzo. Places like Milan and Turin were not on his itinerary!

Lewis is an extremely good writer. The essay entitled Village of Cats featured the Catalan village of Tossa de Mar (to which Lewis gave the fictional name of Farol). Lewis spent 3 summers there during the early 1950s, but eventually fled before the onrush of mass tourism. My first thought on finishing that essay was simply “That was a really good piece of writing.” The essay Tubman Bids Us Toil, about Liberia, was another excellent piece.

The “political” essays include Genocide, a 1968 article about the fate of the Brazilian Indians, and the single piece of writing of which Lewis said he was most proud. There was a similar piece about the atrocious treatment of native peoples in Paraguay, although another piece about Bolivia, The White Promised Land was probably the weakest essay in the collection. An essay on a native group in Venezuela, The Tribe Who Crucified Christ, reveals Lewis’ strong hostility to the work of American missionaries amongst the native peoples.

Some vague memories started to come to the fore when I started reading The Burning of the Trees, an essay about the destruction of the Amazon rainforest. The notes told me it was published in The Observer newspaper in April 1979. I would have been 17 at the time and must have read it when first published. Clearly it made an impression!

Loke’s Merc, is an entertaining and even moving tale of a friendship. Two Generals describes a conversation that Lewis had in Cuba in 1960, with the said generals who were survivors of the Cuban Independence War of 1897-98. It’s another really good piece, but actually almost all the essays are. My one warning would be to anyone who doesn’t like long books – in total this one is more than 550 pages.

[Kronk · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fantastic. Travel writing with a literary, but accessible, style. Lots of variety and Lewis clearly a well travelled man.

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

Norman Lewis has become my favourite travel writer, because his descriptions of places and people are so evocative. This collection is very representative, whether describing the old-fashioned lifestyle of Mediterranean islands or the jungles of Latin America. He writes from an era when travel was much more adventurous and there were, just, still unexplored places to be found and communities to be encountered that were still partially living in the past. I remember this period well from my travels across Europe as a youth in the 1960s, but of course none of my journeys were comparable with Lewis's.

[Steve · Rating 5 out of 5]

Norman Lewis is an incredible find. I was expecting travel writing and found a hugely talented anthropologist with a real gift for writing, who immersed himself in many unique moments of the 20th century. From the mafia wars and trials of Sicily to the mistreatment of indigenous peoples in South America, often travelling with photographers like Don McCullin, he vividly captures the unfolding drama. It can be challenging reading, both the subject matter and the density of his prose, but well worth it.

[JWG02 · Rating 5 out of 5]

10/10. What a life Lewis led and the selection of articles is curated well. Particularly enjoyed the bullfighting articles. A brilliant read and one that can be taken slowly and intermittently with the distinct nature of each article.

[Peter · Rating 5 out of 5]

This collection of travel writings, each piece stunningly written, covering many decades of the last century, is an absolute gem.

The introduction by John Hatt is exemplary in its brevity and salience, as are the brief preludes to each contribution.

And Lewis himself? What a writer - from World War II through climate change to the oppression of indigenous peoples, but also encompassing his quirky travels in Spain, Italy, Sardinia (I know, but) and many other places, each piece generates some kind of response whether it's indignation, curiosity, awe or just plain wanderlust.

I recommend this collection whole-heartedly.

[John Zada · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fabulous collection of idiosyncratic travel pieces about some very remote and off the beaten path places. Lewis was an underappreciated author and eccentric globetrotter whose writing was also testament to the remarkable life he led.