Travels with a donkey in the Cevennes

by Robert Louis Stevenson

"Travels with a Donkey in the Cévennes" by Robert Louis Stevenson is a travel narrative published in 1879. The book recounts Stevenson's 12-day solo hiking journey through the remote mountains of south-central France, accompanied by Modestine, a stubborn donkey he struggles to control. This pioneering work of outdoor literature presents hiking and camping as recreation, while exploring themes of solitude, Protestant history, and the philosophy of traveling for its own sake. Stevenson encounters suspicious locals, sleeps under the stars, and reflects on the region's violent religious past.