A Tramp Abroad
Oxford Companion to American Literature:
Top
A Tramp Abroad
travel narrative by Clemens, published in 1880 under his pseudonym Mark Twain. It is a record of his European tour (1878) with Joseph H. Twichell, whom he calls “Harris,” and describes their adventures in Germany, Italy, and Switzerland, chiefly during a walking trip through the Black Forest and the Alps. Besides the serious, journalistic account of European natural beauties, society, folklore, and history, including enthusiastic descriptions of Alpine scenery that do not fail to praise comparable regions of the U.S., there are passages ranging from crude farce to tall tales and typical satire. Thus a retelling of Whymper's conquest of the Matterhorn is complemented by the author's “ascent of Mont Blanc by telescope,” and a description of ravens in the Black Forest prompts him to recount “Baker's Blue-Jay Yarn,” concerned with the sense of humor of California jays. Characteristic humor also appears in Clemens's inept drawings, purportedly the work of an art student, and the satirical passages on subjects alien to the average American, such as “the awful German language,” Wagnerian opera, and “The Great French Duel.”
Wikipedia on Answers.com:
Top
A Tramp Abroad
| A Tramp Abroad | |
|---|---|
 A Tramp Abroad 1st edition cover |
|
| Author(s) | Mark Twain |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre(s) | Travel literature |
| Publisher | American Publishing Company |
| Publication date | 1880[1] |
| Media type | |
| Pages | 649 |
| Preceded by | The Adventures of Tom Sawyer |
| Followed by | The Prince and the Pauper |
A Tramp Abroad is a work of non-fiction travel literature by American author Mark Twain, published in 1880. The book details a journey by the author, with his friend Harris (a character created for the book, and based on his closest friend, Joseph Twichell), through central and southern Europe. While the stated goal of the journey is to walk most of the way, the men find themselves using other forms of transport as they traverse the continent. The book is the third of Mark Twain's five travel books and is often thought to be an unofficial sequel to the first one, The Innocents Abroad.
As the two men make their way through Germany, the Alps, and Italy, they encounter situations made all the more humorous by their reactions to them. The narrator (Twain) plays the part of the American tourist of the time, believing that he understands all that he sees, but in reality understanding none of it.
|
Contents
|
Plot
The first half of the book covers their stay in south-western Germany (Heidelberg, Mannheim, a trip on the Neckar river, Baden-Baden and the Black Forest). The second part describes his travels through Switzerland and eastern France (Lucerne, Interlaken, Zermatt, Chamonix and Geneva). The end of the book covers his trip through several cities in northern Italy (Milan, Venice and Rome). Several other cities are touched and described during their travels, as well as mountains such as Matterhorn, the Jungfrau, the Rigi-Kulm and Mont-Blanc.
Interleaved with the narration, Mark Twain inserted also stories not related to the trip, such as Bluejay Yarn, The Man who puts up at Gasby's and others; as well as many German Legends, partly invented by the author himself.[2]
Six Appendices are included in the book. They are short essays dedicated to different topics. The role of The Portier in European hotels and how they make their living, a description of Heidelberg Castle, an essay on College Prisons in Germany, The Awful German Language, a houmorous essay on German language, a short story called The legend of the Castle and finally a satirical description of German Newspapers.
Illustrations
The book contains 328 illustrations, which contributes to the humorism in the book, mainly done by artists Walter Francis Brown, True W. Williams, Benjamin Henry Day and William Wallace Denslow. Adaptations of previously published works by James Carter Beard, Roswell Morse Shurtleff and Edward Whymper are also included, as well as Mark Twain's own drawings.[2]
See also
References
- ^ Facsimile of the original 1st edition.
- ^ a b R. Kent Rasmussen (2007). Critical companion to Mark Twain: a literary reference to his life and work. New York: Facts on File. ISBN 0-8160-5398-7. http://books.google.com/books?id=VYsavOLN8HQC&printsec=frontcover&dq=Critical+companion+to+Mark+Twain:+a+literary+reference+to+his+life+and+work&hl=en&ei=RHB0TuTKCsbqOaCU2acM&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CCwQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q&f=false.
External links
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to: A Tramp Abroad |
 |
Wikisource has original text related to this article: |
 |
This article about a travel book is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)
Post a question - any question - to the WikiAnswers community:
Copyrights:
Oxford Companion to American Literature
The Oxford Companion to American Literature. © 1995
Oxford University Press.
All rights reserved.
Read more
Mentioned in
that's about the size of it
(Idiom)
warpath
(word origin: 1755)
come across
(Idiom)
Mark Twain
(American writer & non-fiction writer)
1880
(chronology)
» More