Travel

The Innocents Abroad: Or the New Pilgrim's Progress

The Innocents Abroad: Or the New Pilgrim's Progress

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  • Create Date：2021-04-21 14:55:43
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
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  • Author：Mark Twain
  • ISBN：1840226366
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Summary

'Who could read the programme for the excursion without longing to make one of the party？'

So Mark Twain acclaims his voyage from New York City to Europe and the Holy Land in June 1867。 His adventures produced The Innocents Abroad， a book so funny and provocative it made him an international star for the rest of his life。 He was making his first responses to the Old World - to Paris， Milan， Florence， Venice， Pompeii， Constantinople， Sebastopol， Balaklava， Damascus， Jerusalem， Nazareth， and Bethlehem。 For the first time he was seeing the great paintings and sculptures of the 'Old Masters'。 He responded with wonder and amazement， but also with exasperation， irritation， disbelief。 Above all he displayed the great energy of his humour， more explosive for us now than for his beguiled contemporaries。

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Reviews

Chadwick Watters ，

I love the humor and the imagery， but I can’t get over the racism。 Every Muslim in the book is described as dirty， even the Ottoman emperor。

Jeremy Anderberg ，

Loved it。 Often laugh out loud funny， but mixed with thoughtful observation and realistic takes on what travel is like。 Some of the ethnocentrism is distasteful for modern ears， but I have to think that a large part of that is actually satire。 Longer review coming later。 4。5/5

Christy Bagasao ，

Masterful and funny！

Mrs R Iles ，

Totally engrossingMark Twain is a complete discovery for me。 Of course I knew the name and who he was， but never thought he would be an author I would understand let alone enjoy reading （English is not my native language）。 I am so glad I overcame my prejudice。 I found this first book absolutely fascinating。 I couldn't put it down and I was sad when I got to the end as if I was saying good bye to an old friend。 A lot of it is "tongue in cheek" ， with a very dry sense of humour and it made laugh。 Totally engrossingMark Twain is a complete discovery for me。 Of course I knew the name and who he was， but never thought he would be an author I would understand let alone enjoy reading （English is not my native language）。 I am so glad I overcame my prejudice。 I found this first book absolutely fascinating。 I couldn't put it down and I was sad when I got to the end as if I was saying good bye to an old friend。 A lot of it is "tongue in cheek" ， with a very dry sense of humour and it made laugh。 After all this is what Mark Twain is renowned for。 But in all， this is a very serious book which offers a great deal of amazing insights and first hand observations into what is ， regrettably now a lost world， a bygone age。 And because of this it is a precious document to be truly cherished by all lovers of the exotic and of great prose。 I wholeheartedly recommend it as a good and stimulating read。 。。。more

Kristen ，

Absolutely delightful。 When I finally get the chance to travel， I'll listen to it again and again。 For now， it sailed me through the barren highways of Connecticut in weak spring sunshine， and fortified me on the cold roads of NH as my stomach churned with anxiety and uncertainty。Perfectly captured that which I explored in my oceanliner research。 Listened on Audible。 Everything you could want from an audiobook。 Grover Gardner was excellent。Hilarious。 I was laughing aloud in traffic。 The scalping Absolutely delightful。 When I finally get the chance to travel， I'll listen to it again and again。 For now， it sailed me through the barren highways of Connecticut in weak spring sunshine， and fortified me on the cold roads of NH as my stomach churned with anxiety and uncertainty。Perfectly captured that which I explored in my oceanliner research。 Listened on Audible。 Everything you could want from an audiobook。 Grover Gardner was excellent。Hilarious。 I was laughing aloud in traffic。 The scalping by the Italian barbers， the pyramid-jumpers， the eternal baksheesh。Best read after a rewatch of Karl Pilkington， lol。People are alike all over。A thousand thank you's， Mark Twain。 。。。more

Alexandra ，

Twain is an incredible writer， that is undeniable。 However， because of the nature of this book， it has a very limited plot。 That， mixed with it's considerable length， made it seem very dull and redundant。 I will reread it once some time has passed， and hopefully will get more out of it。 Twain is an incredible writer， that is undeniable。 However， because of the nature of this book， it has a very limited plot。 That， mixed with it's considerable length， made it seem very dull and redundant。 I will reread it once some time has passed， and hopefully will get more out of it。 。。。more

Renee Kahl ，

I'm marking this "read" having reached only the 70% mark， somewhere between Beirut and Jerusalem， because at this point I've seen enough to feel safe concluding that the rest is just more of the same。 I did skip ahead and read his piece at the end summarizing the trip for the newspaper， because I wanted to see the much-vaunted quote about travel broadening the mind and making one more tolerant and understanding。 To see if he really had the gall to write that after everything else he said about v I'm marking this "read" having reached only the 70% mark， somewhere between Beirut and Jerusalem， because at this point I've seen enough to feel safe concluding that the rest is just more of the same。 I did skip ahead and read his piece at the end summarizing the trip for the newspaper， because I wanted to see the much-vaunted quote about travel broadening the mind and making one more tolerant and understanding。 To see if he really had the gall to write that after everything else he said about various groups of people along the way。 I don't regret reading this; Twain is part of our cultural patrimony， and his cruise through Europe and parts of Asia and Africa provides an invaluable perspective of world history and geography， even if just from an 19th-century white American perspective。 Though I don't generally like travel literature， I followed the trip on maps， and despite the highly unreliable narrator， the information I picked up about places I didn't know and which people are （or were） there was fascinating to me。 Twain displays a much deeper knowledge of what I will call classical history （Greek mythology， ancient history， Bible stories） than is common today， which won't interest everybody， but did me。 That said， reading someone else's written descriptions of cathedrals and ruins is mind-numbingly boring， and line drawings are lame。 Especially in an era where fantastic professional photography is all over the internet。I completely agree that books from the past deserve to be evaluated in terms of the mores of the times， not discarding the art in them because of social attitudes not acceptable today。 So I was prepared to make allowances for Twain’s bigotry against Muslims and Asians （his prejudice is both racial and religious）。 But I was shocked by the degree and virulence of his callousness toward the poor and miserable， whom he encountered in crowds everywhere， and I don’t feel the least bit obliged to excuse it。 He actually （and constantly） uses words like stupid， disgusting， lazy， shiftless--even worthless！ to describe the miserable masses of poverty-stricken that he can’t wait to get away from。 This is not just occasional， it comes up in every site he visits。 It is literally on every other page。 Also on every other page are references to his being Christian， with a clear implication of his superiority。 That he can regard himself this way while disregarding （spitting on） the most fundamental tenet of Christianity is something even the much-praised Twain wit can’t redeem。 In fact， his cleverness makes it worse。For example， I could have looked past his repugnant callousness towards animals， since that kind of empathy was non-existent before the 20th century， but when Twain jokes about dangling a dog over poisonous fumes to see how fast it dies， are we really supposed to admire his wittiness？Defenders of this book say that Twain was an “equal-opportunity” insulter。 I call BS on this。 The one or two occasions on which he laments the lot of the poor， or points to any form of Christian hypocrisy， it is strictly for purposes of bashing the Catholic or Mormon church。 Protestantism is the “true religion”， and he isn’t being tongue-in-cheek when he says this。Not that there aren’t flashes of humor。 The funniest parts are his descriptions of the attempted dancing on the cruise ship， before arriving at any foreign ports。 。。。more

Simon Robs ，

A quite remarkable travel writing account of an 1867 trip abroad to Europe and the Middle East by America's folklorist hero and scribe early on in his writing career。 A quite remarkable travel writing account of an 1867 trip abroad to Europe and the Middle East by America's folklorist hero and scribe early on in his writing career。 。。。more

Rebekah Gernhard ，

So boring and tedious。 A few moments of wit and humor but that's it。 He makes traveling and seeing the world sound like a terrible time。 The entire book he disparages people and cultures different from his own。 So boring and tedious。 A few moments of wit and humor but that's it。 He makes traveling and seeing the world sound like a terrible time。 The entire book he disparages people and cultures different from his own。 。。。more

Bj ，

The Innocents Abroad is a two volume （nearly 800 page） travelogue published in 1869， when Twain was in his early 30s。 I followed his adventures to the Azores （dirty peasants）， Gibraltar， France， Lake Como （Lake Tahoe is bigger！）， Milan， Pisa， and Florence。 While the descriptions of the places that Twain liked inspired me to investigate via Google Images， too much of Volume I complains about European roads， and the common people。 Twain does not think much of the paintings that fill the museums， a The Innocents Abroad is a two volume （nearly 800 page） travelogue published in 1869， when Twain was in his early 30s。 I followed his adventures to the Azores （dirty peasants）， Gibraltar， France， Lake Como （Lake Tahoe is bigger！）， Milan， Pisa， and Florence。 While the descriptions of the places that Twain liked inspired me to investigate via Google Images， too much of Volume I complains about European roads， and the common people。 Twain does not think much of the paintings that fill the museums， and is quite proud of his ignorance and disdain。 He may indeed be the original Ugly American Tourist。 After 270 pages of Twain's negative reviews， I have put this tome aside。 Maybe I'll pick it up again at some point， but maybe not。 。。。more

B。J。 Richardson ，

This book contains the usual blend of Mark Twain's salty skepticism combined with his colorful exaggerations。 You never quite know where the "travelogue" ends and the "color commentary" begins and that is what I love about Twain。 The premise of this book is that Twain joined a group of American tourists on a Mediterranean steamship tour。 With occasional inland forays from one city/country to another， they visit Portugal， Spain， France， Italy， Greece， Turkey （up into SW Russia）， Syria， Palestine， This book contains the usual blend of Mark Twain's salty skepticism combined with his colorful exaggerations。 You never quite know where the "travelogue" ends and the "color commentary" begins and that is what I love about Twain。 The premise of this book is that Twain joined a group of American tourists on a Mediterranean steamship tour。 With occasional inland forays from one city/country to another， they visit Portugal， Spain， France， Italy， Greece， Turkey （up into SW Russia）， Syria， Palestine， Egypt， and back again。 On this journey， Twain is talking about his experiences with sideways jabs sometimes at the "locals" and at other times at the "innocents abroad。" One thing I was not expecting was how Twain was documenting the very end of an era。 His descriptions of many of these cities like Paris， Rome， Constantinople， etc would have been drastically changed had he written even a decade later。 Shortly before this "Innocents" Europe tour， in New York City a man named Elisha Otis "cut the rope" on the emergency safety break allowing the development of the modern elevator。 Prior to this， most buildings were only a few stories high at most。 After this， skyscrapers very quickly came to dominate all of these major cities。 This would drastically change not just the sights but the very character and nature of our big cities and Mark Twain was one of the last to write on what our major cities， all over the world， were like before this change。 Now that I have read this， I would love to read the account from someone else who made a similar tour twenty years later。 。。。more

Kevin Christiansen ，

An enjoyable read。

Tazindayan ，

A splendid read。 Very easy to empathize with the narrator throughout and an expansive array of twists and turns that only non-fiction can honestly produce。 Intended for newspaper articles and has that distinct stop-gap feel throughout。 I highly recommend it to anyone who is busy but would like some non-relevant reading nearby。

Catie ，

‘52 Comedy Books for 52 Weeks’ buddy read with Scott - January 2021

Crystal ，

Fascinating and funny—-this book was a real romp in time。

Felix Kram ，

An entertaining mixture of dry wit， deadpan sarcasm， sprinkled with interesting insights into American prejudices towards foreign countries。

Michael Perkins ，

one of my favorite incidents from the book。。。。“They had just docked in Greece and the passengers learned they would be quarantined and not be allowed to go ashore。。。。。。It was the bitterest disappointment we had yet experienced。 To lie a whole day in sight of the Acropolis， and yet be obliged to go away without visiting Athens！ Disappointment was hardly a strong enough word to describe the circumstances。。。。At eleven o'clock at night， when most of the ship's company were abed， four of us stole sof one of my favorite incidents from the book。。。。“They had just docked in Greece and the passengers learned they would be quarantined and not be allowed to go ashore。。。。。。It was the bitterest disappointment we had yet experienced。 To lie a whole day in sight of the Acropolis， and yet be obliged to go away without visiting Athens！ Disappointment was hardly a strong enough word to describe the circumstances。。。。At eleven o'clock at night， when most of the ship's company were abed， four of us stole softly ashore in a small boat， a clouded moon favoring the enterprise。。。Once ashore and seeing no road， we took a tall hill to the left of the distant Acropolis for a mark， and steered straight for it over all obstructions。。。The full moon was riding high in the cloudless heavens now。 We sauntered carelessly and unthinkingly to the edge of the lofty battlements of the citadel， and looked down---- a vision！ And such a vision！ Athens by moonlight！” 。。。more

Amy ，

Funny and clever （of course）。 Interesting peek into what a man of the time thought was poking fun at the grand-tour generation。 Pretty shocking racism and nationalism that was hard to tell was part of the satire or not。 More an interesting view of the time than engaging story。 Felt a little long。

Andrea ，

Written in 1867， this book is the furthest thing from being "politically correct" as you can get， but damn is it funny。 Dripping sarcasm and hilarity take these "pilgrims" from country to country on their pleasure cruise， and nobody is off limits to Twain's critique; he's as likely to poke fun at pale Europeans as dark-skinned Syrians; over-confident tourists as begging locals; the rich as the poor， and the staunch religious as the disbelievers。 As a self-proclaimed travel junkie， I can't believ Written in 1867， this book is the furthest thing from being "politically correct" as you can get， but damn is it funny。 Dripping sarcasm and hilarity take these "pilgrims" from country to country on their pleasure cruise， and nobody is off limits to Twain's critique; he's as likely to poke fun at pale Europeans as dark-skinned Syrians; over-confident tourists as begging locals; the rich as the poor， and the staunch religious as the disbelievers。 As a self-proclaimed travel junkie， I can't believe I've only just now found The Innocents Abroad。 Bravo， Mark Twain。If I may be so bold， may I suggest the audiobook format， narrated by Grover Gardner， played at 1。25 speed。 I found this only increase the humor。 。。。more

Katy M ，

2021 Pop Sugar Reading Challenge-a book that takes place in more than one country。I'm not really sure how to rate this。 I think it was supposed to be satirical。 And as such there was some funny stuff。 But， if not， it's more than a little disturbing。 I've been to a lot of the European sitoes described in the book， so it was fun to revisit them。 But， a lot of the descriptions seemed a bit dry。 2021 Pop Sugar Reading Challenge-a book that takes place in more than one country。I'm not really sure how to rate this。 I think it was supposed to be satirical。 And as such there was some funny stuff。 But， if not， it's more than a little disturbing。 I've been to a lot of the European sitoes described in the book， so it was fun to revisit them。 But， a lot of the descriptions seemed a bit dry。 。。。more

Jim Bean ，

Still an excellent narrativeIt's really special to read a story told by such a vivid author。 The details were necessary in bygone times because you had to define what the eyes and mind of the reader must "feel" to share the experience。 This is truly a lost art in today's storytelling。 Mark Twain was very successful。 This book was a travel experience of 1867。 I believe Mr。 Twain captured what this part of the world was like over 100 years ago。 Still an excellent narrativeIt's really special to read a story told by such a vivid author。 The details were necessary in bygone times because you had to define what the eyes and mind of the reader must "feel" to share the experience。 This is truly a lost art in today's storytelling。 Mark Twain was very successful。 This book was a travel experience of 1867。 I believe Mr。 Twain captured what this part of the world was like over 100 years ago。 。。。more

Nicholas Zimet ，

Too racist to bother with anymore。 there is amusement to be found but it is drowning in antiquated hatred brazenly shoved at you relentlessly

Regitze ，

Glimpses of greatness， humour and wit in a long， long， almost endless sludge。 It took me forever to read this book， for the most part I was just so bored with it。 I think with the time that has passed since this was released， time has gotten away from this book。 I’m afraid this is simply one I’ll forget about as the only memorable thing was how I sludged through it。

Ali Mays ，

Mark Twain’s famous quote “travel is fatal to prejudice， bigotry， and narrow-mindedness” comes from this book and yet my biggest takeaway from reading The Innocents Abroad was how remarkably racist and xenophobic Twain’s writing was。 I understand he was writing in a very different time—just after the Civil War—but I can tell you this travel guide does hold up in the 21st century。 I gave it 2 stars because his writing is beautiful and his depictions of some of the natural wonders of Europe and As Mark Twain’s famous quote “travel is fatal to prejudice， bigotry， and narrow-mindedness” comes from this book and yet my biggest takeaway from reading The Innocents Abroad was how remarkably racist and xenophobic Twain’s writing was。 I understand he was writing in a very different time—just after the Civil War—but I can tell you this travel guide does hold up in the 21st century。 I gave it 2 stars because his writing is beautiful and his depictions of some of the natural wonders of Europe and Asia would surely inspire a deep wanderlust in every reader。 But， his degrading and unfair descriptions of every non-white， non-Christian he meets made it hard to get through。 。。。more

Laura ，

Twain is always a good read。 This was his account of a 5 month long trip he took with a group of observant Protestants to Europe and the Middle East in 1867。 It is a funny， thoughtful， and （intentionally and otherwise） unflattering look at the way the educated， comfortable voyagers encountered cultures quite unlike their own。 American ignorance， racism， and cultural arrogance are on full display throughout， and it can be hard to get through for that reason。 Twain was someone who had no hesitatio Twain is always a good read。 This was his account of a 5 month long trip he took with a group of observant Protestants to Europe and the Middle East in 1867。 It is a funny， thoughtful， and （intentionally and otherwise） unflattering look at the way the educated， comfortable voyagers encountered cultures quite unlike their own。 American ignorance， racism， and cultural arrogance are on full display throughout， and it can be hard to get through for that reason。 Twain was someone who had no hesitation about condemning racism and Protestant religious hypocrisy in the US， but being an American in foreign places challenged his relationship to his national identity， sometimes successfully and sometimes not。 In that， I fear that we Americans probably haven't changed much。 。。。more

Paula Green ，

I kinda enjoyed the book， however I did find it slightly monotonous。 I was going to read another of his more famous books but I might just leave that for a couple of months。 Maybe till the next lockdown。

Phyll ，

Mark Twain gives today’s reader an interesting look at what world travel was like 150 years ago。 Since the book is voluminous， the reader may tend to skip through passages。 However， if they do， they will miss some of Twain’s humor and sarcasm。 For today’s reader， it is not a page-turner。 But for the reader of 1869， it could well have been。

Robert Kemp ，

A collection of writings detailing a trip taken by the author and others to Europe and points east， including the Holy Land。 At times hilarious， and other times a bit laborious， it is overall an enjoyable read。 It isn't necessarily a thrilling page-turner， but its Mark Twain， and the writing ability is appreciated。 He has an undeniable way with words。 A collection of writings detailing a trip taken by the author and others to Europe and points east， including the Holy Land。 At times hilarious， and other times a bit laborious， it is overall an enjoyable read。 It isn't necessarily a thrilling page-turner， but its Mark Twain， and the writing ability is appreciated。 He has an undeniable way with words。 。。。more

Paul McAfee ，

There have been nearly 1000 reviews of this book， but I’ll add mine anyway。 That way I’ll have a record of having read it。This book is long。 I probably read it over a year or two。 While the writing is great， it’s not a page turner。 It’s basically a travelogue with a lot of humor， cynicism， wit， etc。 thrown in。 There’s not much suspense or excitement。 It’s a very long book to read， although pleasant。As a travelogue， this book doesn’t have much relevance today。 I can see how it was a hit in the se There have been nearly 1000 reviews of this book， but I’ll add mine anyway。 That way I’ll have a record of having read it。This book is long。 I probably read it over a year or two。 While the writing is great， it’s not a page turner。 It’s basically a travelogue with a lot of humor， cynicism， wit， etc。 thrown in。 There’s not much suspense or excitement。 It’s a very long book to read， although pleasant。As a travelogue， this book doesn’t have much relevance today。 I can see how it was a hit in the second part of the 19th century when there was no internet， television， or radio。 Maxwell had just published his equations。 Given how tuned in people are to electronic media in this day， I suspect that people of that day were just as tuned in to the written word。 As far as photographs were concerned， they were still in the period of daguerreotypes and emulsion plates， so it was important to be able to paint pictures with your sentences， which Twain did exceedingly well。It’s a good book to read if you enjoy well written sentences， dry wit， cynicism and all that。 It’s also interesting to hear about how they travelled back in the day。 On the other hand， if you’re looking for a light read， something exciting， or something relevant， you might look elsewhere。 。。。more

Jacob Steckbeck ，

Mark Twain is snarky asshole and I love him for it。

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=The Innocents Abroad: Or the New Pilgrim's Progress

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=The Innocents Abroad: Or the New Pilgrim's Progress&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,The Innocents Abroad: Or the New Pilgrim's Progress&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0