From England to Iceland

This edition has been fully restored with modern typesetting, custom cover design. This vivid travel book turns a journey to Iceland into an adventure of discovery, beginning with the practical business of getting there aboard the steamship Camoens from Granton and continuing through Scotland, Leith, and the stormy North Atlantic. As the voyage grows rough and the passengers are shaken by seasickness, the first sight of Iceland's snowfields, glaciers, and volcanic coasts feels all the more dramatic. The author writes as a traveler, not a scientist, aiming to give general readers an accessible, firsthand account of a land long shrouded in mystery. What follows is part guide, part portrait: Reykjavik, Thingvellir, the Geysirs, Akureyri, Snaefellsjökull, the Westmann's Islands, and the Arctic coast all appear in a lively mix of scenery, history, politics, religion, and local custom. Alongside midnight sun, basalt cliffs, seabirds, ponies, farms, wool, shark oil, and ferry crossings, he reflects on Iceland's sagas, language, Viking past, and hopes for self-government, trade, and renewal. Illustrated with photographs, the book blends wonder, humor, and admiration for a remote people and their remarkable land.