Literary Trips: Following in the Footsteps of Fame

"The excitement of finding something strange consists precisely in noting its strangeness," says Paul Bowles in the foreword. In his final bit of writing before his death last year, Bowles hit on the driving force that impels the best travel writers: the urge to tell someone about their trips. In this book, they find the opportunity, bringing readers along on their journeys to places made unique and fascinating by the works of the best writers in literature. This book enables readers to turn a simple trip into a pilgrimage and an ordinary sightseeing tour into an adventure.

Combining evocative biographies and useful travel tips to point travelers to the haunts and homes of famous writers, Literary Trips is a first in the world of thematic travelers tales. Readers sip martinis with Noel Coward and Ian Fleming on a Jamaican beach; fish for marlin with Ernest Hemingway in Cuba; ride a streetcar through New Orleans's French Quarter with Tennessee Williams; surf Australia's king-size waves with Bruce Chatwin; hang on tight to a camel with Lawrence of Arabia in Jordan; lounge in Parisian cafes with Gertrude Stein and F. Scott Fitzgerald; and much more.

"The feet that are being followed belong to outstanding literary figures. The feet following them are exceptional travel writers."--the Toronto Star

"Along with the literary trivia and the so-and-so-slept-here tips, Brooks and her stable of insiders provide first-rate overviews of accommodations and transportation options for the varied literary pitstops."--the Vancouver Province

"Revealing and inspirational....While there have been other books about the (literal) literary landscape, few...have managed to fold in the how-and-where nuts and bolts...that this one has."--Mark Orwell, managing editor, Travel & Leisure