Travels with a Donkey in the Cevennes

Stevenson doesn't merely relate the story of his travel through the Cevennes of lower France, he also entertains us with the foibles of himself and his costar, the erstwhile donkey Modestine. I was going to tag this as "humour" after the funny opening chapters, but unfortunately it isn't a steady element as he settles into his journey and reaches a better understanding with his travel companion. Other than a bad sense of direction where his route isn't clearly marked, there's little thereafter to trouble him and the focus turns to his surroundings.

I do envy his easy ability to sleep out in the open air wherever he happens to find himself - try that today in inhabited regions! He is predictably good with descriptions of the landscape and show more its people. The final third or so I found least interesting as became bogged down with a lot of contrast and compare exercises between the Catholic and Protestant populations, tied to history of the area that featured conflict between them dating back to the Edict of Nantes's revocation by Louis XVI and the subsequent uprising of the Camisards (Huguenots). He could find few remaining scars from that time in his day, impressed by the people's steadfastness in their faith and general tolerance.

The short journey ends with an inevitable parting between Stevenson and his donkey, which at first he's cavalier about but then feels his loss. Modestine is what I'll remember most. show less

This was a short travelogue memoir of the author's trip through the Cevennes Mountains in France in 1878. This was a 12 day trek undertaken only by Stevenson and his donkey, Modestine. The reader gets descriptions of the landscapes and the people, oftentimes with humor. 82 pages

It would be difficult to find a travel writer who surpasses Stevenson's skill in describing landscape. You will want to dwell over certain passages. I was unhappy over his treatment of the donkey and his many complaints in the first half of the book, but both improve over time.

Adventure in the mountains of central east France in a time when the was still the odd wolf, no cars on the roads, and when a dark night meant stumbling in the blackness. Stevenson's usual weightless and yet dignified prose style leads the way.

The title gives you a pretty good idea of what goes on in the book. If it was called Travels with a Donkey in the Cévennes While Hating Catholics, it would give you an even better idea. I picked it up because the first chapter/essay in [b:Footsteps: Adventures of a Romantic Biographer|992809|Footsteps Adventures of a Romantic Biographer|Richard Holmes|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1403183687l/992809._SY75_.jpg|978304] is about Stevenson's adventure and I thought that it would be fun to read the original before I read the response. It was fun! This is a short, briskly-paced account of a kind of leisure travel which was quite new at the time. It's clearly written and Stevenson isn't afraid to laugh show more at himself, so there is some humour to be had. The religious/political bits are short and easily bearable. If you can get through the animal mistreatment toward the beginning, it's a rewarding light read. show less

Short, scenic account of a mountainous journey in the 1870’s with the help of a donkey named Modestine. Also a reminder of all the things we can do with our time when we don’t obsess over who’s Catholic and who’s Protestant.

Fairly early in his career, Robert Louis Stevenson published a travel narrative about a two-week hiking trip through the mountains in central France. I love animals, so I was disappointed that the donkey wasn't featured as prominently as the title led me to believe. In fact, Stevenson only reluctantly accepted the need for a donkey to carry the equipment he thought was necessary for his journey. Stevenson's writing didn't persuade me to plan a trip to the Cevennes. I was most interested in the history of the religious wars in this region between Protestants and Catholics.