In 2026 come for a wander through some of the most notable works of travel writing in the English language on this curated travel writing course
In 1933 Patrick Leigh Fermor set out in the depths of winter to walk from Holland to Hungary (his actual destination was much further east than that!). He was on foot and slept in barns and castles on his way, and years later gave the world one of the greatest travel writing books ever written, A Time of Gifts.
We then turn to the Sea and Sardinia by D. H. Lawrence and get vivid glimpses of island life from a trip to Sardinia in 1921. Next to a very different group of European travellers on an island, this time in Thailand in the 1990s, in Alex Garland’s The Beach. And finally we move to a much harsher landscape, in Rory Stewart’s 36 day walk across Afghanistan in 2002, The Places In Between.
As usual what unites these narratives is an irrepresible wanderlust, and a consequent journey where the protagonist does not remain unchanged.
Jacaranda blossom falls on the warm paving stones of UWA and Crawley and academic gowns replace students in t-shirts around the campus. As usual my year in reading results in my selecting a very different list of bests to that published in the New York Times or elsewhere.
Seven Pillars of Wisdom by T. E. Lawrence (1926)
I think that the best way to consume this is to listen to Jim Norton’s reading of it on Naxos Recordings (1994). I slow the playback speed to 80 percent of normal to make it even more stately. Lawrence understood and loved the Bedouin people of Arabia and it is this, along with his living alongside them in military campaigns, that I most enjoy in this classic. The voice of Lawrence is stoic and his views are far reaching.
A Month in the Country by J. L. Carr (1980)
An ode to English architecture, art and the countryside. A soldier recovers from the trauma of combat and the trenches while working on uncovering a medieval painting in a country church. He is slowly imbricated into the stichings of local community and the networks of the village. Human contact and concern, and the soft shapes and sounds of old England seen from his belfry windows bring him back into the human fold. A simple and satisfying novel, and gets close to the soul of England.
We Will Not Be Saved: A memoir of hope and resistance in the Amazon rainforest by Nemonte Nenquimo (2025)
I can’t call this book a great literary work, but I do think its worth paying attention to. An indigenous woman from the Amazon basin who speaks up for her culture and her forest home with fire in her belly. Her voice moved me with its urgency and depth of conviction that she is speaking for a threatened people and culture.
Selected Prose by Charles Lamb (1823, originally published)
I am happy that life still has the ability to introduce me to writers of literary prose who have the stature of a classic. It took me many years to read Charles Lamb and I can say that he is one of the greatest essayists of the English language. Whimsical and wandering and greatly entertaining.
Chomei by Hojoki (1212, originally published)
I listened to Hojoki by Chomei as read by the famous classical Japanese actor Togo Igawa (Naxos recordings, 2008) and was hooked immediately. It is nice to discover such gems you have never heard about in the world of literature and straight away know you have found a classic. This was written in the thirteenth centry in Japan, but it is a presaging of the world of Thoreau in Walden – retreat to a small hut in the countryside and find peace and simplicity. Buddhism is an influence, but he transcends any doctrines with his poetic sensibility.
A Short History of British Architecture: From Stonehenge to the Shard (2025)
I really enjoyed this good humored stroll through the ages of church, civic and residential architecture. As I read I stopped and watched a ‘Smarthistory’ produced video (an art history not for profit) on an English cathedral on Youtube – it is important to see the buildings referred to as you go along rather than just read about them. The book shares my disinterest in much of the dullness that has taken the name architecture from the middle of the twentieth century onwards, so is of more use if you are interested in earlier periods of design.
Clinging to the Wreckage: Another Part of Life (1983)
A highly articulate English gentleman with a great sense of humour. Good company and plenty of laughs. I actually think this autobiography is better than his fictional creations (although I admit that I do not have a very wide knowledge of his fictional creations beyond Rumpole).
Moonraker by Ian Fleming (1955)
If you were to try to create a portrait of what ‘Englishness’ looks like you could include this novel, along with many of the other books that I have picked in my 2025 list. This novel was written in 1955 and shows a very different England to what you will find today if you visit. The scenes from London clubland are perfect insights into another world of Palladian architecture and gentlemanly bonhomie, a world that is gone 70 years later. The villain of the novel is a plutocrat who launches rockets, so perhaps one aspect of the novel isn’t out of date in the contemporary world. And the usual Fleming ability to hold the narrative taut with suspense, page after page, is a pleasure.
Sister Wendy’s 1000 Masterpieces (1999)
Wendy Beckett was a Catholic nun and an art historian. She became famous to the world as ‘Sister Wendy’ through a series of TV documentaries where she wanders around art galleries and discusses some of her favourite art works. Her insights are presented simply and with humane grace and understanding. Old masters that on first glance don’t seem to speak to me have, after analysis from Sister Wendy, opened up insights into the human heart or the wider world that I would never have expected. Do yourself a favour and watch some of her documentaries, especially the early ones, on Youtube.
Erebus: The Story of a Ship by Michael Palin (2018)
Palin shows that you can write the biography of a ship as a vehicle to reveal an exciting period in polar exploration and British confidence and curiosity. James Ross’s time in Tasmania is an important part of the book, which is of interest for an Australian audience. Treading the boards of Erebus in the first few decades of the nineteenth century makes the reader feel that the world is still full of mystery and adventure. The Ancient Mariner by Coleridge is a poem that seems written in the memory of the fated ship Erebus:
With sloping masts and dipping prow, As who pursued with yell and blow Still treads the shadow of his foe, And forward bends his head, The ship drove fast, loud roared the blast, And southward aye we fled.
