The Book of Marvels and Travels (Oxford World´s Classics New Edition)

• A lively new translation of Sir John Mandeville's Book of Marvels and Travels, the classic and highly entertaining medieval account of a journey from Europe to the Holy Land and beyond, and the many marvellous and monstrous peoples and animals living there.
• The new translation by Anthony Bale emphasizes readability and accessibility, preserving Mandeville's forceful and sometime playful narrative voice.
• The Introduction considers questions of authorship and origins, the early travel narrative, Crusading and religious difference, fantasy and the European Age of Discovery and Mandeville's pervasive popularity and influence.
• Helpful notes on historical context and insights into medieval culture and attitudes.
• Includes a note on medieval measurements, three maps, an index of places and a general index.

'Another island in the Great Ocean has many sinful and malevolent women, who have precious gems in their eyes.'

In his Book of Marvels and Travels, Sir John Mandeville describes a journey from Europe to Jerusalem and on into Asia, and the many wonderful and monstrous peoples and practices in the East. He tells us about the Sultan in Cairo, the Great Khan in China, and the mythical Christian prince Prester John. There are giants and pygmies, cannibals and Amazons, headless humans and people with a single foot so huge it can shield them from the sun . Forceful and opinionated, the narrator is by turns bossy, learned, playful, and moralizing, with an endless curiosity about different cultures.

Written in the fourteenth century, the Book is a captivating blend of fact and fantasy, an extraordinary travel narrative that offers some revealing and unexpected attitudes towards other races and religions. It was immensely popular, and numbered among its readers Chaucer, Columbus, and Thomas More. Anthony Bale's new translation emphasizes the book's readability, and his introduction and notes bring us closer to Mandeville's medieval worldview.

Readership: Readers of classic literature, travel literature, medieval history, medieval religion, myths and legends; students of medieval literature and history, travel narratives, race and religion.