In 1878, Robert Louis Stevenson escaped from his numerous troubles - poor health, tormented love, inadequate funds - by embarking on a journey through the Cevennes in France, accompanied by Modestine, a rather single-minded donkey. The notebook Stevenson kept during this time became Travels with a Donkey in the Cevennes, a highly entertaining account of the French people and their country. The Amateur Emigrant is a journal of his travels to and in America - describing the crowded weeks in steerage with the poor and sick, as well as stowaways - and the train journey he took across the country. Filled with sharp-eyed observations, this work conveys Stevenson's perceptions of America and the Americans. Together, these two pieces are examples of nineteenth-century travel writing, revealing as much about the traveller as the places he travels to.<BR>Christopher MacLachlan's introduction places the works in their biographical and literary context. This edition also includes pieces from Stevenson's original notebooks, a chronology, further reading, notes and maps of the journeys.