A Time of Gifts: On Foot to Constantinople: from the Hook of Holland to the Middle Danube
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WITH A FOREWORD BY JAN MORRIS
'A treasure chest' Spectator
'A masterpiece' William Dalrymple, Financial Times
In 1933, aged eighteen, Patrick Leigh Fermor set out on his 'great trudge', a year-long journey by foot from the Hook of Holland to Istanbul. Three decades later he wrote A Time of Gifts, the sparklingly original account of the first part of this youthful adventure. Alone, carrying only a rucksack and a small allowance, he travelled through the Low Countries, up the Rhine, through Germany, down the Danube, through Austria and Czechoslovakia, and as far as Hungary.
Hailed as a masterpiece, A Time of Gifts is in part a coming-of-age memoir, but also a rich and compelling portrait of a continent that - despite its resplendent domes and monasteries, great rivers and grand cities - was soon to be swept away by war, modernisation and profound social change.
'Rightly considered to be among the most beautiful travel books in the language' Independent
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Praise for A Time of Gifts
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Nothing short of a masterpiece - Jan MorrisA treasure chest of descriptive writing - SpectatorNot only is the journey one of physical adventure but of cultural awakening. Architecture, art, genealogy, quirks of history and language are all devoured - and here passed on - with a gusto uniquely his - Colin Thubron, Sunday TelegraphEvery page of this book is distinguished by an image, a metaphor, a flash of humour always original and sometimes as incisive as a laser beam. - Vincent CroninA tremendous journey ... and he's fabulous company - Manchester Evening NewsThis is a traveller's tale at its infectious and informative best; vividly remembered and beautifully written - Church TimesRightly considered to be among the most beautiful travel books in the language - IndependentBringing the landscape alive as no other writer can, he uses his profound and eclectic understanding of cultures and peoples ... to paint vivid pictures - nobody has illuminated the geography of Europe better - Geographical Magazine
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