The South of France—East Half
Public-domain ebook
The South of France—East Half
by C. B. Black
Language: en3,988 downloads on Project Gutenberg
Subjects
In: France·Travel Writing
Public-domain ebook sourced from Project Gutenberg #24787.
About this book
The South of France, East Half is a practical travel guide compiled by Charles Bertram Black, a seasoned wanderer who personally surveyed the valleys of the Rhône, Drôme and Durance, the Riviera, and the Alpine passes linking France with Italy. The opening pages present a meticulous layout of railway routes, branch lines and accompanying maps, allowing a traveler to trace journeys from Paris to Marseille or from the Riviera inland to the famed spa towns of Vichy, Aix‑les‑Bains and Mont‑Dore. Black intersperses logistical details, distances, fares, hotel rates, luggage handling, and even advice on health‑preserving habits for invalids, with vivid descriptions of towns, churches and picture‑galleries, all framed by the author’s own observations rather than a generic handbook’s formulaic entries.
Written in the earnest, instructive prose of the late Victorian era, the guide reflects the period’s confidence in rail travel and the burgeoning tourism industry. Its tone is that of a knowledgeable companion, offering both factual data and courteous counsel. Readers who relish historic travel literature, railway enthusiasts, or anyone interested in the 19th‑century experience of touring southern France and northern Italy will find Black’s detailed routes and health‑focused commentary both informative and evocative.
The opening · free to read
FRANCE—South-East Half—including the whole of the Valley of the Rhône in France, with the adjacent Departments; the Valley of the Upper Loire, with the adjacent Departments; the Riviera; the Passes between France and Italy; and the Italian towns of Turin, Piacenza, Modena, Bologna, Florence, Leghorn and Pisa. Illustrated with numerous Maps and Plans. Fourth edition. 5s.
From “Scotsman,” June 2, 1884.
“_C. B. Black’s Guide-books have a character of their own; and that character is a good one. Their author has made himself personally acquainted with the localities with which he deals in a manner in which only a man of leisure, a lover of travel, and an intelligent observer of Continental life could afford to do. He does not ‘get up’ the places as a mere hack guide-book writer is often, by the necessity of the case, compelled to do. Hence he is able to correct common mistakes, and to supply information on minute points of much interest apt to be overlooked by the hurried observer._”
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