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Croisières et caravanes
Autobiographie.
Dans ses autres livres, Ella Maillart (1903-1997) nous narrait des aventures précises circonscrites dans le temps. Avec Croisières et caravanes, paru en 1951, c'est à travers un demi-siècle d'existence qu'elle nous promène, depuis sa jeunesse insouciante et rebelle en Suisse jusqu'à son long séjour en Inde qui la transforma si profondément. Pour la première fois, elle se laisse aller à raconter sa vie, et ce qui la fit courir ainsi vers l' " inconnu lointain ".
Dans ses autres livres, Ella Maillart (1903-1997) nous narrait des aventures précises circonscrites dans le temps. Avec Croisières et caravanes, paru en 1951, c'est à travers un demi-siècle d'existence qu'elle nous promène, depuis sa jeunesse insouciante et rebelle en Suisse jusqu'à son long séjour en Inde qui la transforma si profondément. Pour la première fois, elle se laisse aller à raconter sa vie, et ce qui la fit courir ainsi vers l' " inconnu lointain ".
- GenresTravelNonfictionFrance
240 pages, Pocket Book
First published January 1, 1942
6 people are currently reading
77 people want to read
About the author
Ella Maillart
25 books43 followersElla 'Kini' Maillart (February 20, 1903 – March 27, 1997) was a French-speaking Swiss adventurer and travel writer, as well as a sportswoman. She had been captain of the Swiss Women's ice hockey team and was an international skier. She also competed in the 1924 Summer Olympics as sailor in the Olympic monotype competition.
From the 1930s onward she spent years exploring oriental republics of the USSR, as well as other parts of Asia, and published a rich series of books which, just as her photographs, are today considered valuable historical testimonies. Her early books were written in French but later she began to write in English. Turkestan Solo describes a journey in 1932 in Soviet Turkestan. In 1934, the French daily Le Petit Parisien sent her to Manchuria to report on the situation under the Japanese occupation. It was there that she met Peter Fleming, a well-known writer and correspondent of The Times, with whom she would team up to cross China from Peking to Srinagar (3,500 miles), much of the route being through hostile desert regions and steep Himalayan passes. The journey started in February 1935 and took seven months to complete, involving travel by train, on lorries, on foot, horse and camelback. Their objective was to ascertain what was happening in Sinkiang (then also known as Chinese Turkestan) where a civil war had been going on. Ella Maillart later recorded this trek in her book Forbidden Journey, while Peter Fleming's parallel account is found in his News from Tartary. In 1937 Ella Maillart returned to Asia for Le Petit Parisien to report on Afghanistan, Iran and Turkey, while in 1939 she undertook a trip from Geneva to Kabul by car, in the company of the Swiss writer, Annemarie Schwarzenbach. The Cruel Way is the title of Ella Maillart's book about this experience, cut short by the outbreak of the second World War.
She spent the war years in the South of India, learning from different teachers about Advaita Vedanta, one of the schools of Hindu philosophy. On her return to Switzerland in 1945, she lived in Geneva and at Chandolin, a mountain village in the Swiss Alps. She continued to ski until late in life and last returned to Tibet in 1986.
Ella Maillart's manuscripts and documents are kept at the Bibliothèque de Genève (Library of the City of Geneva), her photographic work is deposited at the Musée de l'Elysée in Lausanne, and her documentary films (on Afghanistan, Nepal and South India) are part of the collection of La Cinémathèque suisse in Lausanne, Switzerland.
From the 1930s onward she spent years exploring oriental republics of the USSR, as well as other parts of Asia, and published a rich series of books which, just as her photographs, are today considered valuable historical testimonies. Her early books were written in French but later she began to write in English. Turkestan Solo describes a journey in 1932 in Soviet Turkestan. In 1934, the French daily Le Petit Parisien sent her to Manchuria to report on the situation under the Japanese occupation. It was there that she met Peter Fleming, a well-known writer and correspondent of The Times, with whom she would team up to cross China from Peking to Srinagar (3,500 miles), much of the route being through hostile desert regions and steep Himalayan passes. The journey started in February 1935 and took seven months to complete, involving travel by train, on lorries, on foot, horse and camelback. Their objective was to ascertain what was happening in Sinkiang (then also known as Chinese Turkestan) where a civil war had been going on. Ella Maillart later recorded this trek in her book Forbidden Journey, while Peter Fleming's parallel account is found in his News from Tartary. In 1937 Ella Maillart returned to Asia for Le Petit Parisien to report on Afghanistan, Iran and Turkey, while in 1939 she undertook a trip from Geneva to Kabul by car, in the company of the Swiss writer, Annemarie Schwarzenbach. The Cruel Way is the title of Ella Maillart's book about this experience, cut short by the outbreak of the second World War.
She spent the war years in the South of India, learning from different teachers about Advaita Vedanta, one of the schools of Hindu philosophy. On her return to Switzerland in 1945, she lived in Geneva and at Chandolin, a mountain village in the Swiss Alps. She continued to ski until late in life and last returned to Tibet in 1986.
Ella Maillart's manuscripts and documents are kept at the Bibliothèque de Genève (Library of the City of Geneva), her photographic work is deposited at the Musée de l'Elysée in Lausanne, and her documentary films (on Afghanistan, Nepal and South India) are part of the collection of La Cinémathèque suisse in Lausanne, Switzerland.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
April 25, 2017
This is a brief book - less than 160 pages, but it provides a short overview of the intrepid life of Ella Maillart.
From her learning to sail, then taking on a voyage from the French Riviera to Corsica with a small, all female crew of 3, to a recounting (in brief) of her previous books - gipsy afloat, Parmi La Jeunesse Russe (in French, not translated to English), Turkestan Solo: A Journey Through Central Asia and Forbidden Journey.
These journeys are well described in a brief format (I have previously read Forbidden Journey) and it is interesting to read of the life of Maillart in between her major travels, where she sets about to spend time in her chosen sports and raise money or support for her next travels.
Overall, either a good introduction to Maillart's travels, or a brief opportunity to revisit them.
3.5 stars, rounded down to 3.
From her learning to sail, then taking on a voyage from the French Riviera to Corsica with a small, all female crew of 3, to a recounting (in brief) of her previous books - gipsy afloat, Parmi La Jeunesse Russe (in French, not translated to English), Turkestan Solo: A Journey Through Central Asia and Forbidden Journey.
These journeys are well described in a brief format (I have previously read Forbidden Journey) and it is interesting to read of the life of Maillart in between her major travels, where she sets about to spend time in her chosen sports and raise money or support for her next travels.
Overall, either a good introduction to Maillart's travels, or a brief opportunity to revisit them.
3.5 stars, rounded down to 3.
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March 15, 2016En 1950, Ella Maillart raconte sa jeunesse et les premiers voyages qu'elle effectua à travers l'Asie. "Croisières et caravanes" finit là où commence "La voie cruelle"' alors que l'Europe s'enflamme et que l'auteure se sauve au bout du monde avec Annemarie Schwarzenbach pour éviter la fin du monde. Au long des chapitres, nous découvrons le parcours initiatique de Maillart alors qu'elle s'initie au voyage en traversant l'Union Soviétique, le Turkéstan et la Chine avec des moyens très limités. Enfoncée dans les vallées du Pamir et du Hindou-Kouch, elle chemine à dos de chameau en se nourrissant de lait de jument caillé et de bouts de pain, fascinée par ce qu'elle découvre et toujours curieuse de jeter un oeil dans la vallée voisine.
Évidemment, des phrases d'explorateurs parseméesde termes géographique exotiques rythme cette narration qui fait revivre le voyage à l'époque où il était un acte absolument incertain.
"Nous ne nous attardons pas à visiter la capitale byzantine à l'abri de ses remparts grandioses car Christina s'est engagée à rejoindre au plus vite les archéologues français qui travaillent en Afghanistan, afin de les aider au cours de leurs fouilles d'été. Ce travail sera moins fatiguant pour elle que de m'accompagner dans les vallées inconnues du Kafiristan."
Ce livre, je l'ai trouvé alors que moi-même j'explorais. Volé sur une tablette d'échange de livres usagés dans un café de Georgetown en Guyane Anglaise, j'ai fini de le lire à Rémire-Montjoly, en banlieue de Cayenne, la veille de mon départ pour l'Amazonie.
Évidemment, des phrases d'explorateurs parseméesde termes géographique exotiques rythme cette narration qui fait revivre le voyage à l'époque où il était un acte absolument incertain.
"Nous ne nous attardons pas à visiter la capitale byzantine à l'abri de ses remparts grandioses car Christina s'est engagée à rejoindre au plus vite les archéologues français qui travaillent en Afghanistan, afin de les aider au cours de leurs fouilles d'été. Ce travail sera moins fatiguant pour elle que de m'accompagner dans les vallées inconnues du Kafiristan."
Ce livre, je l'ai trouvé alors que moi-même j'explorais. Volé sur une tablette d'échange de livres usagés dans un café de Georgetown en Guyane Anglaise, j'ai fini de le lire à Rémire-Montjoly, en banlieue de Cayenne, la veille de mon départ pour l'Amazonie.
February 20, 2024
Emporté dans son voyage, on se questionne sur sa propre envie de parcourir le monde pour le découvrir de ses propres yeux...
November 12, 2024
littérature de voyage -> meilleures lectures d’été, quel banger, je me souviens pas de toutes mes impressions à la lecture, mais trop bien de parcourir le monde et le temps
May 3, 2020
Introspective narration of her adventurous life with a lot of humility
August 31, 2023
I love a good memoir, something about real experiences makes reading seem more intense. And I love a good strong independent woman. This one had all the ingredients to be a favorite! But it didn’t quite do it for me.
A young swiss skier, sailor and alpinist goes on her journey through central Asia in the early 20th century. The memoir relates several trips and aventures, and gives an overview of her life.
Overall 3/5 since the passages felt too fast, I missed a lot of detail, and I didn’t really connect with her on a personal level. But still, she deserves 3 stars for her bravery and for being a young independent woman in 1920 that set the path to many after her. Thank you Ella!!
A young swiss skier, sailor and alpinist goes on her journey through central Asia in the early 20th century. The memoir relates several trips and aventures, and gives an overview of her life.
Overall 3/5 since the passages felt too fast, I missed a lot of detail, and I didn’t really connect with her on a personal level. But still, she deserves 3 stars for her bravery and for being a young independent woman in 1920 that set the path to many after her. Thank you Ella!!
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews