Following the Equator

“The writer of our youth is here with his perennial charm and vigor.” —The New York Times

In 1895, America’s most celebrated author embarked on a whirlwind round-the-world lecture tour from Paris to Vancouver, the South Seas, Australia, India, and South Africa. Traveling by steamship, train, and rickshaw, Mark Twain circled the globe delivering lectures and writing about the people and stories he encountered along the way. Though best known for his tales of life along the Mississippi River, Twain was an experienced world traveler and this book, his fifth and last travel narrative, is an evocative portrait of nineteenth-century travel and customs.

Though the trip was undertaken to help Twain recover from bankruptcy, the circumstances of the journey have no impact on the author’s characteristic sense of comic timing and piercing observations; his wandering spirit and maturation as an astute observer of human nature course through every page. Entranced by India above all other destinations, Twain vividly describes the wedding of a twelve-year-old girl, a visit to the infamous prison cell “the black hole of Calcutta,” and a memorable ride on an elephant. A true classic of travel writing, Following the Equator is a delight—a chance to see the world through the eyes of America’s most unique and beloved author.