Literary Journeys: Mapping Fictional Travels across the World of Literature

(John McMurtrie (Ed), Princeton, £25) 

Here are two versions of the same review: the one I submitted to Teach Secondary magazine, and the edited one they published.

The published version

Over the course of 75 separate essays, this sumptuous book serves as a beautifully illustrated guide to the worlds and social backgrounds presented by a wide variety of books.

Divided into several sections – ‘Quests and explorations’, ‘The age of travel’, ‘Postmodern movements’ and ‘Contemporary crossings – the featured works span 725 BCE to the present day.

Each essay presents an overview of the book in question, with biographical details concerning the author. Each entry is only a few pages long, sometimes with accompanying illustrations, but they still succeed as being good introductions to some seminal texts, and stimulating springboards for classroom discussion.

Given the wealth of knowledge it contains, the book represents great value for money, and fully deserves a place on every English department’s bookshelves.

The submitted version

With nearly eighty essays, this sumptuous book provides highly readable, and beautifully illustrated, introductions to, and backgrounds of, a wide variety of books.

Organised into Quests and explorations, the age of travel, postmodern movements, and contemporary crossings, it features works from 725 BCE to  2021.

The essays provide not only a summary of the book but biographical details about the author. Each entry is only a few pages long, some of which are taken up with illustrations. They therefore provide very good introductions to the texts, and encourage students to read at least some of them. At least, that’s the effect they’ve had on me!

The essays would also act as starting points for discussion. For the wealth of knowledge it contains, this is great value for money, and deserves a place on the English department’s bookshelves, as well as in the school library.

Warmly recommended.