By the Ionian Sea: Notes of a Ramble in Southern Italy [Paperback]

The book is worth reading from beginning to end, saidThe Nationin June 1905, upon the first American publication of this classic work of travel literature.

The second of two memorable trips to the Mediterranean. The second was to Calabria and the wild Italian coast south of Naples. From bad food to filthy inns and dangerously watered wine, to a strange malarial-type fever which kept him bedridden for days, Gissing suffered all for the sake of viewing the sites and old ruins of Magna Graecia, and to see for himself the classical cities he called his land of romance. Filled with humor, pathos, and captivating landscapes,By the Ionian Seacontinues to inspire the traveler, while re-educating the reader in the glories of this still-forgotten corner of Italy.

The second of two memorable trips to the Mediterranean. The second was to Calabria and the wild Italian coast south of Naples. From bad food to filthy inns and dangerously watered wine, to a strange malarial-type fever which kept him bedridden for days, Gissing suffered all for the sake of viewing the sites and old ruins of "Magna Graecia," and to see for himself the classical cities he called his "land of romance." Filled with humor, pathos, and captivating landscapes, By the Ionian Sea continues to inspire the traveler, while re-educating the reader in the glories of this still-forgotten corner of Italy.

George Robert Gissing (1857 – 1903) was an English novelist who published twenty-three novels between 1880 and 1903. From his early naturalistic works, he developed into one of the most accomplished realists of the late-Victorian era.

I. From Naples
II. Paola
III. The Grave of Alaric
IV. Taranto
V. Dulci Galaesi Flumen
VI. The Table of the Paladins
VII. Cotrone
VIII. Faces by the Way
IX. My Friend the Doctor
X. Children of the Soil
XI. The Mount of Refuge