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Revision as of 14:32, 1 January 2012
, 14:32, 1 January 2012no edit summary
Each piece starts with a photo and a mini biography of the writer, including where and when they were born, where they now live and some of their best known or most recent books. I think this is really useful, as travel writing is such a personal form and any writer's observations while travelling are going to be informed by their own experience and origins. It also offers a good starting point for exploring further work by those involved. I was attracted to the collection by the participation of a couple of old favourites, but I will certainly be looking out for more by some of the new-to-me writers.
Just over a quarter of the contributors are women. The editors mostly invited writers who live in Britain to contribute, and there are only a handful of writers who come from outside “the West” themselves. The authors' ages range from 34 to 96, although the majority are in their 40s and 50s. Big names include [[:Category:Paul Theroux|Paul Theroux]] and [[:Category:Colin Thubron|Colin Thubron]].
In ''A Cave on the Black Sea'', Patrick Leigh Fermor, who has just died aged 96, writes about sharing a campfire meal with a group of Bulgarian sailors, while walking across Europe back in 1934.
