''Tramp Royale'' is a nonfiction travelogue by science fiction writer
Robert A. Heinlein, describing how he and his wife,
Ginny, went around the world by ship and plane between 1953 and 1954. It was published posthumously in 1992, and subsequently went out of print.
Much of the book is devoted to social and political commentary and observation, including two lengthy but half-hearted defenses of the
McCarthy hearings, about which the Heinleins were interrogated repeatedly in the countries they visited. Although Heinlein has been adopted as somewhat of a posterboy by the
libertarian movement, the political commentary reveals that Heinlein was far from being a doctrinaire adherent of any particular political philosophy. For example, he compares the social welfare state of New Zealand unfavorably to that of Uruguay and says that he cannot explain why the one was so much more successful than the other.
Heinlein devoted an entire chapter to his (almost) visit to
Tristan da Cunha, arguably the most remote human settlement on Earth. He described the islands as being so far from the rest of human civilization that the next closest human settlement,
St. Helena
Saint Helena () is a British overseas territory located in the South Atlantic Ocean. It is a remote volcanic tropical island west of the coast of south-western Africa, and east of Rio de Janeiro in South America. It is one of three constitu ...
, "
sitself so remote that it was picked as a safe prison for
Napoleon Bonaparte after he crushed his way out of
Elba". Tristan da Cunha is from St. Helena.
This trip, along with Heinlein's experiences as a naval officer, appears to have provided a great deal of the background material for some of Heinlein's science fiction novels, such as passenger liners used in ''
Podkayne of Mars
''Podkayne of Mars'' is a science-fiction novel by American writer Robert A. Heinlein, originally serialised in ''Worlds of If'' (November 1962, January, March 1963), and published in hardcover in 1963. The novel features a teenage girl named ...
'' (in space) and in ''
Job: A Comedy of Justice'' (on the oceans). Much of the humor in the book consists of riffs on the idea that Ginny is the hothead, while Robert is the easygoing one. For example, in a shipboard incident at the captain's table, Robert continues eating his dessert after being doused in salad during a food fight started by Ginny.
References
External links
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{{Heinlein (books)
1992 non-fiction books
Books by Robert A. Heinlein
American travel books
Books published posthumously
Ace Books books