There’s nonsense and nonsense, and then there is Edward Lear. The nation’s favourite children’s poem, The Owl and the Pussycat, is proof, if it were needed, of his continuing power to delight.
Lear’s first Book of Nonsense was published in 1846, but by then, in his mid-thirties, he was already living in Italy and supporting himself more by paintbrush than pen.
As Michael Montgomery reveals as he follows in the artist’s footsteps, Lear was also an extraordinary travel writer, able to conjure up a sense of place to sit alongside the nonsense.
Obviously, Lear had an eye and ear for the ridiculous. He also had a yearning for the remote, so, as well as the familiar scenes in Venice and Florence, Rome and Naples, he takes us to less-visited places: to the Abruzzi, Basilicata, the Alban Hills and southern Calabria. On the way, we glean insights into Lear’s unusual life, his privileged childhood, his father’s loss of fortune, how he emerged as a leading artist and the way he agonised over marriage — even in his sixties, he longed for companionship but thought it was better to “suffer alone than cause sufferings in others”.
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Trekking in the Pyrenees by Douglas Streatfeild-James (Trailblazer £11.99)
The Pyrenees have all that’s best in walking, says the author of this guide: “Fantastic scenery, great places to stay, good weather and, above all, variety.” The splendour of the scenery is obvious from the few full-page colour photos that adorn this dense book. The range of accommodation is impressive; the weather a matter of timing and luck. And the variety becomes clear as soon as you start reading. But the best reason of all to visit the Pyrenees is the range of walking experience the region has to offer — and this is the best trekking guide in the business.
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To buy Lear’s Italy or Trekking in the Pyrenees for the reduced price of £7.64 or £9.59 respectively, call The Sunday Times Books First on 0870 165 8585