Books with title Travels with a Donkey in the Cévennes

Travels recounts Stevenson's 12-day, 200-kilometre (120 mi) solo hiking journey through the sparsely populated and impoverished areas of the Cévennes mountains in south-central France in 1878.[1] The terrain, with its barren rocky heather-filled hillsides, he often compared to parts of Scotland. The other principal character is Modestine, a stubborn, manipulative donkey he could never quite master. It is one of the earliest accounts to present hiking and camping outdoors as a recreational activity. It also tells of commissioning one of the first sleeping bags, large and heavy enough to require a donkey to carry.

The wild Cevennes region of France forms the backdrop for the pioneering travelogue 'Travels with a Donkey,' written by a young Robert Louis Stevenson. Ever hopeful of encountering the adventure he yearned for and raising much needed finance at the start of his writing career, Stevenson embarked on the120 mile, 12 day trek and recorded his experiences in this journal. His only companion for the trip was a predictably stubborn donkey called Modestine. 'Travels with a Donkey' gives the reader a rare glimpse of the character of the author, and the journalistic and often comical style of writing is in refreshing contrast to Stevenson's more famous works.

The Cévennes was the site of a Protestant rebellion around 1702, severely suppressed by Catholic Louis XIV. The Protestant insurgents, a minority population in the region, were known as the Camisards. Stevenson was well-versed in the history, romantically imagining scenes from the rebellion along the way. He notes that the Catholics and the Protestants, at the time of his travels, lived peaceably but with an absolute divide between the two communities. A young Catholic man who married a Protestant girl and changed his faith in the process was unanimously condemned for this breach of loyalty, an example of the sentiment "change is not good" which pervaded the countryside.

The wild Cevennes place of France bureaucracy the backdrop for the pioneering travelogue 'Travels with a Donkey, ' written by way of a younger Robert Louis Stevenson. Ever hopeful of encountering the journey he yearned for and raising lots wished finance at the begin of his writing profession, Stevenson embarked on the120 mile, 12 day trek and recorded his stories on this magazine. His handiest companion for the experience was a predictably cussed donkey referred to as Modestine. 'Travels with a Donkey' gives the reader a unprecedented glimpse of the character of the writer, and the journalistic and frequently comical style of writing is in clean contrast to Stevenson's greater well-known works.