Articles

Ivan Chambers, the witty, erudite and  distinguished bookseller has died at the age of  ninety five. Chambers was born in Philippopolis in Bulgaria on January 20th 1902, where his  father was working on the financial side of a silk spinning factory. He returned to England as a small child and was educated at St George’s…
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As a child in London, Lesley Blanch and her parents were often visited by the Traveller, a mysterious Russian, who enthused the young Lesley with Siberian stories and tales of his daring-do. This passion for Russia and things Russian never left her: the ‘Love of my heart, the fulfilment of the senses and the kingdom…
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By nature, Richard Trench who has died from a heart attack at the age of 48, was a nomad. He was a scavenger for information and because he found almost everything interesting he adapted to any situation with relative ease. This desire for knowledge made him a very lively companion; he took a keen interest…
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I am going to have an exhibition of my paintings in Aldeburgh in Suffolk at the beginning of November during the poetry festival which is over the weekend of November 2nd. This is exciting but also rather daunting – I need to produce around forty framed pictures which I will need to sell as I…
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I wrote the following review for the September 2014 Conde Nast Traveller: Pilgrim at Tinker Creek by Annie Dillard. After reading Annie Dillard’s finely observed descriptions of nature and place you begin to see the world truly. On her walks, Dillard sees herself as both explorer and stalker and Tinker Creek – near her home in a valley…
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This article was first published in The Observer on 4 May, 2008. Click here to read the article on the Guardian and Observer website > My first independent trip … Around America in a Greyhound bus when I was 23. I bought a 99-days-for-$99 pass and stayed for a year. After that I went round…
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This article was first published in the Times Online, on May 7, 2007 Our literary traveller, Sarah Anderson, packed her books again and travels to Tibet Does Shangri-la really exist? Certainly there has long been the appeal of a mythical land where no one ever got old, but it was only in the 1990s when…
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This article was first published in the Times Online, on April 11, 2007 Our globe-trotting literary traveller Sarah Anderson hits the road again with her books, this time to Cuba It was my 22-year old niece’s idea to go to Cuba, she only had to twist my arm vaguely, since I’m always keen to go…
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This article was first published in the Times Online, on September 13, 2006 Sarah Anderson travels on the Trans-Siberian Railway and stops in Russia on a trip inspired by a host of literary greats A journey to Siberia by train in search of Shamans, Old Believers and following – albeit in relative comfort – in…
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This article was first published in the Times Online, on September 29 2006 Sarah Anderson traverses the small towns and tall tales of Eastern Europe, to find a country of bears, frescoes and sad histories After flying to Bucharest where the temperature was in the 90sF, we took a six-hour train ride to Suceava: “a…
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