Robert Louis Stevenson, Travels with a Donkey in the Cevennes

Kathy Rees (Independent Scholar - Europe)

Ed. by Grace Moore, University of Otago
The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.2.1.07: English Writing and Culture of the Victorian Period, 1837-1901.
Vol. editors: Gillian Fenwick (University of Toronto), Grace Moore (University of Otago)

Dates

First circulation or publication 1879

Places

Scotland (Country of Origin)

Genres and Modes

Non-Fiction
- Guidebooks / Travel writing

Resources

Travels with a Donkey in the Cévennes recounts a journey made by 28-year-old Stevenson across the desolate terrain of south-central France, following unfrequented paths and often sleeping under the stars. It is characterized as a Bohemian trek, an opportunity “to come down off this feather-bed of civilisation, and find the globe granite underfoot and strewn with cutting flints” (57). Stevenson’s claim, “I travel for travel’s sake”, echoes the “l’art pour l’art” philosophy of French aestheticism, implying that this travel-book has no didactic or utilitarian purpose, but is rather a personal meditation on life (57). However, the journey did have a purpose: as …

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1646 words

Citation: Rees, Kathy. "Travels with a Donkey in the Cevennes". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 30 January 2020 [https://staging.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=10093, accessed 24 November 2024.]

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