Travel Writing

New Critical Idiom

by Carl Thompson, John Drakakis (Series Editor)

An increasingly popular genre – addressing issues of empire, colonialism, post-colonialism, globalization, gender and politics – travel writing offers the reader a movement between the familiar and the unknown. In this volume, Carl Concise and practical, Travel Writing is the ideal introduction for those new to the subject, as well as a crucial overview of current debates in the field.

Genres: Travel, Nonfiction, History, Academic, Literature, Literary Criticism

240 pages, Hardcover

First published September 30, 2009

Reviews

[Renée]

PASSED THE COURSE BBYGIRLLLLLL

[Alasdair Pettinger · Rating 4 out of 5]

The tone is genial and Carl Thompson balances opposing viewpoints judiciously. And, where appropriate, examples are provided through close readings of short extracts from a small group of diverse (if mostly Anglophone) authors: William Dampier, Walter Ralegh, Laurence Sterne, Maria Graham, John Ross, Henry Morton Stanley, Graham Greene, W G Sebald, Peter Biddlecombe, Bill Bryson, and others.

Thompson is especially good on what he calls (borrowing from Stephen Shapin) 'epistemological decorum': how codes of plausibility and standards of accuracy change over time, although he might also have embellished this with some remarks on the impact of increasing numbers of readers knowledgeable about the places travel writers describe, many of them local residents.

And I liked the way the chapter on gender and sexuality includes a section on the ways in which gender codes influence men's travel writing (dictating what kinds of activities and attitudes are proper to their accounts if they are to be taken seriously) as well as those authored by women. In a book of this length no topic can be treated in depth; even so, a single paragraph on gay travel writing seems unduly cursory.

This is a very clear and well-organised introduction to the subject and covers all the main issues a beginning-student will need. Key concepts are clarified in a useful glossary, and the bibliography and index are generous.

[Alexandria Robertson · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book, while providing a good basis for travel writing and how it has evolved over time, is ultimately dry and redundant. To quote Peter Griffin, "It insists upon itself." Thompson had good ideas, but would take pages developing it, when the idea itself would only take a paragraph or two. He also had some iffy pronouning for a transgender travel writer.

[Sara · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a great book! It was very scholarly, yet readable and so interesting. It's part literary criticism and part a history of Western cultural imperialism. And more. Lots to think about and so relevant for the course I'm teaching this summer on travel writing.

[Guy Choate · Rating 2 out of 5]

Too academic for my tastes, but it does span a lot of travel writing history. While at parts it made my brain hurt, it also made me want to look up a lot of the works Thompson mentions.