A Tramp Abroad
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Product Description
Twain's account of travelling in Europe, A TRAMP ABROAD (1880), sparkles with the author's shrewd observations and highly opinionated comments on Old World culture, and showcases his unparalleled ability to integrate humorous sketches, autobiographical tidbits, and historical anecdotes in a consistently entertaining narrative. Cast in the form of a walking tour through Germany, Switzerland, France and Italy, A TRAMP ABROAD includes among its adventures a voyage by raft down the Neckar and an ascent of Mount Blanc by telescope, as well as the author's attempts to study art - a wholly imagined activity Twain 'authenticated' with his own wonderfully primitive pictures included in this volume.
About the Author
Samuel Clemens, aka Mark Twain, (1835-1910) was America's foremost humorist as well as an enduring novelist. He is the author of, among other novels, THE ADVENTURES OF TOM SAWYER and THE ADVENTURES OF HUCKLEBERRY FINN, as well as many short works.
Hamlin Hill and Robert Gray Bruce both teach in the English Department at Texas A&M University.
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First Sentence
ONE DAY IT occurred to me that it had been many years since the world had been afforded the spectacle of a man adventurous enough to undertake a journey through Europe on foot. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
ONE DAY IT occurred to me that it had been many years since the world had been afforded the spectacle of a man adventurous enough to undertake a journey through Europe on foot. Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
18 of 19 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
America's post-Civil War years brought a renewed interest in the European scene. Journeys known as Grand Tours led tourists to take ship to the Continent. They fanned out across the landscape with the intent to "know Europe." Their return home resulted in a flurry of published accounts. Twain here satirizes both the tourists and their writings with delicious wit. Ever a man to play with words, his "tramp" refers to both himself and the walking tour of Europe he purports to have made. By the time you've reached the end of the account of the "walking tour" incorporating trains, carriages and barges, you realize that the longest "walk" Twain took occurred in dark hotel room while trying to find his bed. He claims to have covered 47 miles wandering around the room.
Twain was interested in everything, probing into both well-known and obscure topics. His judgments are vividly conveyed in this book, standing in marked contrast to his more reserved approach in Innocents Abroad. A delightful overview of mid-19th Century Europe, Tramp is also interlaced with entertaining asides. Twain was deeply interested in people, and various "types" are drawn from his piercing gaze, rendered with acerbic wit. Some of these are contemporary, while others are dredged from his memories of the California mines and other journeys. He also relished Nature's marvels, recounting his observations. A favourite essay is "What Stumped the Blue-jays." A nearly universal bird in North America, Twain's description of the jay's curiosity and expressive ability stands unmatched. He observes such humble creatures as ants, Alpine chamois, and the American tourist. Few escape his perception or his scathing wit. This book remains valuable for its timeless rendering of characters and the universality of its view. It can be read repeatedly for education or entertainment. [stephen a. haines - Ottawa, Canada]
Format:Kindle Edition
If you want an example of breathtaking, descriptive writing - it's here; in abundance. But from the perspective of a reader wanting to enjoy, it's overdone by close to 100 pages. Easy to skip through, but care is necessary so as not to miss those hilarious situations, even simple comments, randomly interspersed. Could M T be the unacknowledged mentor of that unsurpassed master of funny stories Damon Runyon's style and wit which followed?
2 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase
Without a doubt, this is the funniest book ive ever read and ive read quite a few over my years.Twain's account of a French duel took me half an hour to read,I had to stop reading after every sentence I read,I was laughing so much.A modern day reader may wonder how such a dated occurance can still hold any humour,if you want to know how,download this book and discover what timeless humour means.I also loved his retelling of a day in the woods when a raven disturbed his peaceful reverie by hurling insults at him as only ravens can.Though alone,this incident caused him far more embarrassment than if his feathered bully had been human.Somehow,you can identify with even the most impossible stories such as taking hours to find a sock in the dark in his German bedroom.His nature discription also reveal a heart of a poet as well as an unequalled humourist.This is going to be a book I will dip into time and time again.especially when i'm in need of cheering up,just recalling some of these stories can lift any blues.A real tonic.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Mark Twain at his best
An excellent example of the writer's tongue in cheek tales of his travels, full of pithy and descriptive views and anecdotes
Published 2 months ago by Tommo26
Very dull writing
I remember Twain's writing from my schooldays but I thought I would give him a second chance.
I am afraid I found the subject material to be dull and his style of writing very... Read more
I am afraid I found the subject material to be dull and his style of writing very... Read more
Published on 17 Dec 2001
i was off of my chair!
without a doubt the funniest book i have ever read. 5 stars all the way.
Published on 11 Feb 1999
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