Travels With a Donkey in the Cevennes

Robert Louis Stevenson's Travels with a Donkey in the Cévennes turns a solitary hike through the French mountains into a lively meditation on friendship, faith, and the consolations of the open road. Framed as a warm address to a friend, the narrative follows Stevenson and his stubborn donkey, Modestine, as they leave a Trappist monastery and cross the wild country of Gévaudan, through valleys, plateaus, and mountain passes alive with horns, bells, and village sounds. Along the way, he finds himself equally drawn to landscapes and people: austere monks, a rugged parish priest, and a former army commandant whose earnest attempt to convert him leads to a comic, tense supper conversation about religion and belief. The book balances wit with introspection, admiring the monks' discipline, silence, and practical wisdom while questioning the severity of their rule. Nightly offices, prayer, labor, and fasting create a haunting atmosphere, yet their quiet humanity prevents the monastery from feeling remote or abstract. Against this severe backdrop, Stevenson discovers the deep peace of sleeping under the stars—and, unexpectedly, the grief of parting from Modestine, whose stubbornness gives way to affection and companionship. This edition has been fully restored with modern typesetting, custom cover design.