Details
Author: Edward Neville Vose
Publisher: The Page Company, Boston
Publish Date: 1915
itsabrewtifulbook
| Number of times Beer is mentioned | 3 |
| Specific beers/beer types mentioned | faro, lambic |
| Specific pubs mentioned | n/a |
| Specific breweries mentioned | Not by name, but it mentions that the building which is today the restaurant Margaretha’s in Oudenaarde was a brewery in the day of the author. This is also the house where supposedly Margaretha Van Parma was born. She is the daughter of Charles V (a.k.a. Gouden Carolus/Keizer Karel). |
| Drinking Quotes | “There is invariably a public cafe or estaminet attached to the places where archery contests… are conducted… Between shots the men consume liberal quantities of lambic, faro, or the beer of some neighbouring brewer, and discuss politics or the news of the day.” |
Description
Part of the “Spell of” series put out by The Page Company publishers from Boston, Massachusetts which includes The Spell of Belgium. It mainly focuses on Flanders, as the name would suggest. While writing this book, Vose was travelling with a small group touring Gent in June 1914 when Archduke Ferdinand was assassinated setting off the fuse which led to World War I. This makes the observations in this book even more intriguing since this was likely one of the last travel books written before the war devastated Belgium. During the opening chapter, one of the party members explains at the beginning of their trip that “Flanders…is the most interesting and least visited corner of Europe. It has more battle-fields and more Gothic churches per square mile than can be found anywhere else.” Considering this statement was made before either of the world wars makes for an intriguing introduction, and you have to admire the enthusiasm of travelers ready to immerse themselves into the culture.
About the Author
Vose was an American journalist who lived from 1870-1949. He doesn’t have his own Wikipedia page but interestingly has a short biographical page partially sponsered by the Gent Stadsmuseum.
Table of Contents
- Introducing Flanders and the Four Pilgrims
- Vieux Bruges and Count Baldwin of the Iron Arm
- Bruges in the Days of Charles the Good
- How Bruges Became “The Venice of the North”
- Dixmude and Furnes
- Nieuport and the Yser Canal
- When Ypres was a Greater City than London
- Courtrai and the Battle of the Spurs
- Ghent in the Days of the Flemish Counts
- The Age When Ghent was Governed by its Guilds
- Philip the Good and the Van Eycks
- Tournai, the Oldest City in Belgium
- Three Centuries of Tournaisian Art
- The Fall of Charles the Bold – Memling at Bruges
- Malines in the Time of Margaret of Austria
- Ghent Under Charles the Fifth – And Since
- Audenaerde and Margaret of Parma
- Old Antwerp – Its History and Legends
- Three Centuries of Antwerp Printers
- Antwerp from the Time of Rubens Till Today
- Where Modern Flanders Shines – Ostende and “La Plage”
- The Spell of Flanders
Where to Download or View
| Project Gutenberg | The Spell of Flanders | Free Download |
| Google Books | Not available | |
| Apple Books | Available | Free Download |
| Open Library | The Spell of Flanders | Read only |
| Google Play Books | Free Download | Not available in Belgium |
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