The Cruise of the Nona
Reading edition
HILAIRE BELLOC
A good many years ago, a unique book entitled “The Path to Rome,” by Hilaire Belloc, was published, which has taken an enduring place in our literature. On the thread of a narrative of a walking tour through France and Italy Mr. Belloc strung memories and reflections which made the book as stimulating as it was delightful.
In “The Cruise of the Nona” he employs much the same device as a vehicle for his riper thought and richer experience. “I propose to write a book,” says Mr. Belloc, “called ‘The Cruise of the Nona.’ The ‘Nona’ is the name of my boat, a nine-ton boat in which I have done a great deal of sailing during the last twenty years. The book would consist mainly in reminiscences, judgments, stories, and all the rest that comes into a man’s mind when he is thinking upon the past and upon his own acquired knowledge.”
On the surface, “The Cruise of the Nona” is a breezy record of an adventurous cruise; underneath the surface, it is one of the wisest and most pregnant studies of modern life in many phases, particularly in its War and post-War phases, that have seen the light in many years.
HOUGHTON MIFFLIN COMPANY