Robert Louis Stevenson, Travels with a Donkey in the Cevennes

Download PDF Add to Bookshelf Tweet Report an Error

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 …

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 29 March 2024.]

10093 Travels with a Donkey in the Cevennes 3 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

Save this article

If you need to create a new bookshelf to save this article in, please make sure that you are logged in, then go to your 'Account' here

Leave Feedback

The Literary Encyclopedia is a living community of scholars. We welcome comments which will help us improve.