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A review by melwyk
A Canterbury Pilgrimage / An Italian Pilgrimage by Joseph Pennell, Elizabeth Robins Pennell
4.0
This is a hard one to rate: I'm averaging out the 5 stars for the first bit -- A Canterbury Pilgrimage was a total delight -- and 3 stars for An Italian Pilgrimage. Their trip in Italy isn't as halcyon or storied as England's was, plus there's that uncomfortable sense of period-based disparagement of non-English people.
That said, this was overall a very fun read. Elizabeth Pennell & her husband travelled all over on their oversize trike - they were early adopters of bicycle tech and Elizabeth rode and pedalled on a seat in front of the higher seat her husband used behind her. It must have looked a little nuts but they apparently had a lot of fun as bike trekkers, and Elizabeth wrote these travelogues to pay for the trips. The first one was a huge hit so they continued, but never reached the heights of popularity they had with their Canterbury trip. It's a neat piece of social history uncovered and well worth checking out if you like travel lit or especially if you like biking. Charming reprint, really.
That said, this was overall a very fun read. Elizabeth Pennell & her husband travelled all over on their oversize trike - they were early adopters of bicycle tech and Elizabeth rode and pedalled on a seat in front of the higher seat her husband used behind her. It must have looked a little nuts but they apparently had a lot of fun as bike trekkers, and Elizabeth wrote these travelogues to pay for the trips. The first one was a huge hit so they continued, but never reached the heights of popularity they had with their Canterbury trip. It's a neat piece of social history uncovered and well worth checking out if you like travel lit or especially if you like biking. Charming reprint, really.