Tab Article

Ratings: ★★★★☆ (4/5)
Genre: Non-Fiction, Travel Literature, Classics, Autobiography, Adventure

Book Review:
This Everyman Classics edition brings together three of Robert Louis Stevenson's lesser-known but utterly charming early travelogues. Far from the swashbuckling fiction of ''Treasure Island,'' these works capture the spirit of a young man intoxicated by the romance of the open road (and river, and mountain). In ''An Inland Voyage,'' he canoes through Belgium and France; in ''Travels with a Donkey,'' he treks the Cévennes with a stubborn companion; and in ''The Silverado Squatters,'' he recounts homesteading in an abandoned Californian silver mine. Stevenson's prose is as sharp and observant as ever, filled with witty reflections on people, places, and his own whimsical misfortunes. Editor Trevor Royle provides valuable context with an introduction, notes, and a chronology, framing these adventures within Stevenson's life and the broader literary tradition of travel writing. This collection is a delight for fans of Stevenson, lovers of classic travel literature, and anyone who appreciates a well-told tale of youthful wanderlust and finding home in the most unexpected places. It's a perfect reminder that the journey itself—especially a slightly uncomfortable, donkey-led one—is often the real destination.