''A Handbook for Travellers in Spain'' is an 1845 work of

travel literature The genre of travel literature encompasses outdoor literature, guide books, nature writing, and travel memoirs. One early travel memoirist in Western literature was Pausanias, a Greek geographer of the 2nd century CE. In the early modern pe ...

by English writer

Richard Ford Richard Ford (born February 16, 1944) is an American novelist and short story writer. His best-known works are the novel ''The Sportswriter'' and its sequels, ''Independence Day'', ''The Lay of the Land'' and ''Let Me Be Frank With You'', and the ...

. It has been described as a defining moment in the genre. British tourists were travelling through Europe in increasing numbers and the need for guidebooks was beginning to be supplied by publishers like John Murray. In 1845 Ford, who had gained tremendous knowledge of Spain by extensive travel on horseback, wrote this account enlivened by humour and anecdotes. In Ford's obituary, commonly attributed to

Sir William Stirling-Maxwell Sir William Stirling-Maxwell, 9th Baronet MP KT, of Pollok FRSE DCL LLD (8 March 181815 January 1878), was a Scottish historical writer, art historian and politician. Until 1865 he was known as William Stirling, and several of his books we ...

, "so great a literary achievement had never before been performed under so humble a title."Ford's Obituary, The Times Ford marked, with

George Borrow George Henry Borrow (5 July 1803 – 26 July 1881) was an English writer of novels and of travel based on personal experiences in Europe. His travels gave him a close affinity with the Romani people of Europe, who figure strongly in his work. Hi ...

the eccentric English traveller, an interest in Spain that would continue through the twentieth century on the part of British writers:

Gerald Brenan Edward FitzGerald "Gerald" Brenan, CBE, MC (7 April 1894 – 19 January 1987) was a British writer and hispanist who spent much of his life in Spain. Brenan is best known for ''The Spanish Labyrinth'', a historical work on the background t ...

, Norman Lewis and George Orwell were among the most eminent of these successors, with

Jason Webster Jason Richmond Webster (born September 8, 1977) is a former American football cornerback. He played college football at Texas A&M and was drafted by the San Francisco 49ers in the second round of the 2000 NFL Draft. Webster was also a member o ...

(the author of ''Duende'', ''Andalus'' and ''Guerra'') and Chris Stewart (the author of ''Driving Over Lemons'') being contemporary. The original edition was published by John Murray in 1845 in two volumes. The following year in 1846 he prepared a more manageable version entitled ''Gatherings from Spain'' which included some extra material. Second and third editions of the original book appeared in 1847 and 1855 respectively. As of 1966 the book was still being reprinted. In 1855 Richard Ford also wrote ''Andalucia, Ronda and Granada, Murcia, Valencia, and Catalonia; the portions best suited for the invalid''.

See also

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Further reading