Patrick Leigh Fermor
Patrick Fermor was a travel writer best known for his books describing the “long trudge” he took across Europe between the World Wars. Fermor has been described by William Dalrymple as “the greatest writer of non-fiction English prose of the last century,” his travel trilogy, A Time of Gifts, Between the Woods and the Water, and the posthumously published The Broken Road, describe his experiences walking across Europe.
Image by Lord Snowden
Biography
Beginning in London’s Shepherd Market, Fermor walked from the Hook of Holland to Germany, paused in Romania, and, after traveling over 2,000 miles, ended in Istanbul. Fermor also wrote books on the Caribbean (The Travellers Tree), monasteries (A Time to Keep Silence), and a set of books on Greece (Mani and Romeli: Travels in Northern Greece).
Fermor is the subject of a number of excellent books and biographies. Artemis Cooper’s Patrick Leigh Fermor: An Adventure offers a comprehensive overview of Fermor’s life. Michael O’Sullivan’s Patrick Leigh Fermor: Noble Encounters Between Budapest and Transylvania focuses on the notable families he encountered during his journey. Fermor’s surviving correspondence, passports, photographs, drafts, and a single travel diary, the “Green Diary,” are held in the National Library of Scotland and can be accessed here. The Green Diary was written in 1934 and left in Romania with the family of his close friend, Balasha Cantacuzène. Fermor was reunited with the Green Diary when he visited Balasha in 1965. The Green Diary is the sole remaining diary from Fermor’s travels across Europe. A digitized copy of the Green Diary is available to read on the National Library of Scotland’s website and can be accessed by clicking on the image of the diary below. Information about the history of the Green Diary, and its restoration by the National Library of Scotland, can be found here. A helpful resource for lectures, publications and photographs related to Fermor can be found on Tom Sawford’s website which can be accessed here.
