A career-spanning anthology from the greatest traveler - and travel
writer - of the 20th century.
The adventures of Patrick "Paddy" Leigh Fermor, Britain's most beloved
traveler, began in 1933, when he embarked on a walk from Holland to
Constantinople - the entire length of Europe - at the tender age of 18.
Sleeping in barns, monasteries, and, on occasion, aristocratic country
houses, the young adventurer made way his through the Old World just as
everything was about to change.
Words of Mercury collects pieces from every stage of Leigh Fermor's
life, from his journey through Eastern Europe just before the outbreak
of the Second World War - described in gorgeous, meditative detail - to
his encounter with voodoo in Haiti, to a monastic retreat to Normandy to
try to write a book. Also included is the story of one of his most
well-known exploits from the war - his planned and executed kidnap of a
German general under British orders. Ever the student, "Paddy" also
wrote extensively on his encounters with polymaths, linguists, and
artists all over the world.
Over the course of his illustrious lifetime, Leigh Fermor wrote several
acclaimed travel books, countless essays, translations, and book
reviews, many of which are compiled in this anthology. His unique
experiences out in the world fed his insatiable curiosity and voracious
appetite for scholarship. His tales, written in a singular, elegant
style, have inspired generations of writers and continue to shape the
language of travel.
