Mother Tongues: Travels through Tribal Europe [Paperback]

My book of the year...Drysdale’s writing is simultaneously engrossing, descriptive and diverting. She is the best of travelling companions.

'This is a hugely ambitious project, a mix of anthropology, history, politics and travelogue, but Drysdale brings it off brilliantly... If you still have doubts about the relevance of travel writing in the 21st century, this book will satisfy them' SUNDAY TIMES

A hugely ambitious project, a mix of anthropology, history, politics and travelogue, but Drysdale brings it off brilliantly.

Rich in anecdote and linguistic analysis, in expert reportage and insight...Drysdale’s powers of description are as fresh as ever.

Mother Tongues is humane and scholarly, and wonderfully interwoven with the stress of child-care at very close quarters.

A topical and engrossing look at the changing face of Europe

Over eighteen months Helena Drysdale and her family rattled over the roads and motorways of Europe in their mobile home. Their journey took them to the heart of tribal Europe: to the Frisian Islands, Samiland, the Basque country; to Macedonia, Corsica and Provence. Curious and sympathetic, Drysdale sought out Europe’s indigenous tribes and took stock of their place in our modern world, analysing the vital link between language and identity and capturing beautifully many of the voices and cultures that are already fading away. ‘This is a hugely ambitious project, a mix of anthropology, history, politics and travelogue, but Drysdale brings it off brilliantly . . . If you still have doubts about the relevance of travel writing in the twenty-first century, this book will satisfy them’ Sunday Times ‘Every page of her new book carries the imprint of her originality of thought and expression’ New Statesman ‘A rather magnificent family journey’ Times Literary Supplement ‘Rich . . . expert . . . beautiful’ Evening Standard ‘Humane and scholarly . . . wonderful’ Independent ‘My book of the year’ The Times

Helena Drysdale is the author of three other highly acclaimed travel books: Alone Through China and Tibet, Dancing with the Dead and Looking for George, which was shortlisted for the Esquire/Apple/Waterstone's Non-Fiction Award and the J. R. Ackerley Award for Autobiography. She currently lives in London.