Details
Author: Isabel Anderson
Publisher: The Page Company, Boston
Publish Date: 1915
itsabrewtifulbook
| Number of times Beer is mentioned | 7 |
| Specific beers mentioned | n/a |
| Specific pubs mentioned | n/a |
| Specific breweries mentioned | n/a |
| Best Quotes | “The streets resounded with songs and repeated cries of ‘Vive l’Empereur Charles !’ and as the night approached the night became more dense and noisy, for before the Hotel de Ville immense casks were placed, which poured forth floods of wine and beer that helped to increase the enthusiasm of the citizens of the good city of Antwerp.” – referring to the celebration of the crowning of Charles V as the Holy Roman Emperor in October 1520. This is Gouden Carolus and Keizer Karel. |
Description
This is a gem of a classic travel book written by the wife of an American diplomat recounting her experiences during their stay in Belgium from November 1911 until November 1912. This is full of personal observations of life in Belgium, local customs, legends, and history. She really took every opportunity to explore and research with bottomless curiousity. The chapter on “motoring” around Flanders as they would say back then is a real highlight, as is the chapter “Legends of Antwerp” which is actually an English translation of a work written by a Flemish historian named Sleeckx some fifty years earlier found in the library of Antwerp. There are several wonderful illustrations giving postcard-like views of how Belgium looked prior to WWI. Also included is a delicate map of Belgium. The book ends with an update concerning the war which was ongoing at the time of publishing where she discusses the relief effort that she was participating in.
About the Author
Isabel Anderson (nee Weld Perkins) was an American socialite and author from Boston, Massachusetts who lived from 1876-1948. If you live in the Boston area, it is likely you have come across some part of her legacy and the legacy of her husband Larz Anderson, including the Anderson Memorial Bridge which connects Boston to Cambridge. She volunteered and served with the Red Cross in France and Belgium during the second half of World War I.
Table of Contents
- The New Post
- Diplomatic Life
- Brussels Before the War
- In Days of Knight and Villain
- Battling for a Kingdom
- Belgian Kings
- Politics and Plural Voting
- Belgium’s Workshops
- Tapestries
- Primitives and Later Painters
- La Jeune Belgique in Letters
- Motoring in Flanders
- Legends of Antwerp
- In the Walloon Country
- A Last Word
- Synopsis of the War
- Letters From the Front
- American Relief Work
Where to Download or View
| Project Gutenberg | https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/46248 | Free Download (I wish my copy had this cover) |
| Google Books | Available for sale / partially viewable | |
| Apple Books | Available for sale | |
| Open Library | The Spell of Belgium | Read only |
| Google Play Books | Free Download | Not available in Belgium |
Classic_Travel
itsabrewtifulworld 
Excellent!
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