The Innocents Abroad

Mark Twain (1869)
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THE A5 BOOK REVIEW

One of the best-selling travel books of all time, The Innocents Abroad, is a travelogue by the illustrious American author Mark Twain.  His humorous recount shares his 1867 voyage to Europe and his pilgrimage to the Holy Land.  Imagine a steamer full of Americans off to Europe with Mark Twain as a traveling companion, spewing irreverent observations and shrewd commentary along the way on the places visited, on the habits of fellow passengers, and on reactions to different cultures.  His narration is excruciatingly blunt, amusingly mocking, and sometimes harshly critical.  The “Great Pleasure Excursion” starts with a departure from New York on the retired Civil War ship Quaker City to Gibraltar and Marseille, then by train to Paris, Venice, Florence and Rome, back to sea to Athens, Odessa, Constantinople (now Istanbul), culminating in an excursion through Jerusalem and Egypt.  There are some occasional serious descriptions on the region's history, but Twain rather is rather quick to get back to his normal witty and entertaining writing style.  A San Francisco newspaper actually sponsored his trip, culminating in a series of travel letters that later became the book.  The Innocents Abroad was Twain's best-selling book during his lifetime.
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OTHER A5 RECOMMENDED TRAVEL BOOKS - MARK TWAIN
Mark Twain is of course one of America's most popular authors.  He died in 1910, but there is no question that his books are still very much worth reading today. He provides a personal and funny view into what the world looked like at that time, and how much things have changed.  And maybe even more importantly, how much hasn't changed.  Learn more about Mark Twain here.

GREAT QUOTES FROM THE INNOCENTS ABROAD

“The gentle reader will never, never know what a consummate ass he can become until he goes abroad. I speak now, of course, in the supposition that the gentle reader has not been abroad, and therefore is not already a consummate ass. If the case be otherwise, I beg his pardon and extend to him the cordial hand of fellowship and call him brother. I shall always delight to meet an ass after my own heart when I have finished my travels.” ​​

​"Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts.  Broad. wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one's lifetime."

INTERESTING LINKS:

  • The website for the Mark Twain library at the University of Virginia has great information on The Innocents Abroad, including a map and a series of contemporary reviews.​  Here is a link for the map.
  • Here is a review from the Saturday Evening Post, written in 1869, that also comes from the Mark Twain library.  "THE INNOCENTS ABROAD; OR, THE NEW PILGRIM'S PROGRESS. By MARK TWAIN (SAMUEL L. CLEMENS.) This is an amusing account of the Steamship Quaker City's Pleasure Excursion to Europe and the Holy Land; with descriptions of countries, nations, incidents and adventures, as they appeared to that comic genius, Mark Twain. It is embellished with 234 Illustrations. While the prevailing tone of the book is humorous, there is a great deal of interesting information contained in its pages. It is a capital work for summer reading."
  • Lonely Planet Travel Literature published a book with a spin on the title and a tribute to the sentiment that innocence abroad expands our hearts and minds.  Click here for our review of An Innocent Abroad: Life-changing Trips from 35 Great Writers.
  • Twain's classic travelogue is one of our favorites.  Click here to see the full list of our top recommendations.

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