Mark Twain: Travel Writer

Travel Blog • Jim Benning • 11.22.05 | 1:50 PM ET

Mark Twain the travel writer seems to be a relatively hot commodity these days. National Geographic Society has published a new edition of “Following the Equator,” Twain’s reflection on his 1895-1896 around-the-world trip. And The Lyon’s Press just released Mark Twain on Travel, a collection of some of Twain’s travel writing.

The Orlando Sentinel’s Jay Boyar recently wrote about the new releases and quoted various editors on Twain.

“At a time when not nearly as big a segment of the American public traveled abroad as do now, [Twain] wanted to bring that experience home, but with his particular slant on it,” Dover Publications’ John Grafton told Boyar. “He was very aware that he was coming from the New World and seeing the rest of the world through the eyes of a sort of spokesman for this new civilization.”

Boyar noted that Dover Publications also released a new edition of “Following the Equator.” That may be so, but I could only find evidence online of a 1989 release.