The public library there plays host to a small museum dedicated to Robert Louis Stevenson which is run on a volunteer basis by enthusiastic retirees. Reading Travels with a Donkey, which is so far my favorite of Stevenson’s travel books, I remembered a visit my wife and I made a few years ago to the tony Napa Valley town of St Helena. It's easy to see why even today people get themselves an ass and follow Robert Louis Stevenson's trail through the Cevennes. Of course it is Modestine, the tiny donkey who gives Stevenson such grief who steals the show. Even the sections on the history of the Cevennes area are made interesting by Stevenson's writing. The next thing he does is purchase and name his little donkey Modestine who is a major character in this travelogue's adventures.įor an author who is famous for his stories of kidnapped boys, pirates, buried gold, and evil alter egos this tale of mountain wanderings is surpisingly gentle and lyrical when speaking of sleeping in the open. The very first chapter talks about his preparations for this 12 day trip through the Cevennes region of France and the first thing he does is commission the making of a "sleeping-sack" which we know better as a sleeping bag and Stevenson is credited with being the first to use such a thing. Travels with a Donkey in the Cevennes is one of his early works and supposedly the first to feature camping as a recreational outdoor activity. I have never been a fan of Robert Louis Stevenson so this book was a delightful surprise for me.
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