This edition is entirely re-typeset, includes Belloc's 77 original illustrations, and a new foreword by Belloc biographer Joseph Pearce.
I vowed a vow there to go to Rome on Pilgrimage
and see all Europe which the Christian Faith has saved;
and I said, “I will walk all the way and take advantage
of no wheeled thing...and be present at High Mass in
St. Peter’s on the Feast of St. Peter and St. Paul.
This story of adventurous pilgrimage rambles through the fields of France, the mountains of Switzerland, and the plains of Italy. Belloc’s own favorite among his books, The Path to Rome recounts a pilgrimage on foot from the author’s birthplace in France to the Eternal City. Along the way he must find shelter, food, and directions. Stopping every few pages for a swig of local wine, his thoughts wander as much as his feet, covering topics as wide ranging as:
Devices for Ending Books
On Justice in Armies
Thoughts on French Folk-Lore
The Value of Bakers
The Tradition of Mankind and Ordinary Living
He also ponders the nature of the soul, declares his theory of blessings, and, when caught in loneliness or despair, cheers himself with stories such as that of the Great Barrel, the story of the Old Sailor, the story of the Devil and the Learned Man, and the story of Mr. Hard (to name a few).
In a travelogue devoid of chapters, Belloc carries his reader along at a breakneck pace, stopping only to rest and argue with his imaginary reader, the “Lector.” In these altercations with the Lector, Belloc finds he must defend himself, criticize himself, and make fun of himself for the sake of his sanity and the health of the world. Long a classic and Belloc’s best-known work, this is a newly typeset edition, complete with all of Belloc’s original illustrations.
