Through Portugal

Hume, Martin A. S. (Martin Andrew Sharp), 1847-191Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.0

Word count: 390K words
Chapters: 39

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.Through Portugal by Martin A. S. HumeAuthor: Hume, Martin A. S. (Martin Andrew Sharp), 1847-1910,Language: English, Class: DP: History: General and Eastern Hemisphere: Spain, Portugal, Release Date: Jul 3, 2017

Editor's review

Through Portugal is a travel and history memoir of Portugal by British historian Martin A. S. Hume, published free of charge as an eBook by Project Gutenberg. A longtime scholar of Spanish and Portuguese history, Hume interweaves the landscapes and towns along his route with the historical threads of the Iberian Peninsula, so the book reads with both a traveler's immediacy and a historian's eye for evidence. Its value lies not in offering a contemporary travel guide but in letting readers see, through the eyes of a late-19th-century British scholar, how Portugal's cities, countryside, churches and old ruins carry national memory. The text is in English, traditional in style, with many long sentences and place names, and rewards slow reading. It suits readers as a supplementary introduction to Portuguese history and culture, or for reading alongside maps and historical chronologies; it also serves as background reading for travelers interested in the Iberian Peninsula. Because it was written long ago, its social observations carry the limitations of its era, and readers should keep a critical eye.

Who it's for

A good fit for

General readers interested in Portuguese history and culture
Travelers to Portugal seeking background knowledge
Readers who enjoy the style of 19th-century British travel writing
Beginning students of Iberian Peninsula history

Not a good fit for

Practical tourists needing up-to-date transport and accommodation information
Casual readers hoping for a light Chinese-language travelogue
Beginners who struggle with long English sentences and archaic place names

Reading tips

Read the table of contents and chapter titles first, then closely read the sections on the cities you plan to visit.
Keep a map of Portugal and a brief historical chronology at hand, comparing places and dates as you read.
Treat the book's social observations as period documents; take notes on biased passages rather than accepting them wholesale.
For the English original, read one chapter first to get used to the style, then decide whether to read chapter by chapter.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

Is this book a contemporary travel guide to Portugal?

No. It was written in the late 19th to early 20th century and is a travel memoir with a historical, scholarly bent; it contains no contemporary transport, accommodation or ticket information. It is better used as cultural background reading, and practical travel information should come from an up-to-date guide.

Can I read this book if my English is not good?

The book has many long sentences, archaic place names and historical figures, so readers with weaker English will find it difficult. Try reading a page or two first; if it proves too hard, start with a Chinese introduction to Portuguese history or travel writing before returning to the original.

Is the historical content in the book reliable?

The author, Hume, was a historian of the Iberian Peninsula, and the historical framework is broadly reliable, but the social observations carry the prejudices of a 19th-century Briton. It is advisable to separate factual narrative from personal commentary and to check against modern historical works.

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About the author

Hume, Martin A. S. (Martin Andrew Sharp), 1847-191 Author

Martin A. S. Hume (1847–1910) was a British historian known for his work on early modern Spain and Tudor England. Seven of his works are held in this collection, all centred on the politics and court life of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. He wrote Philip II. of Spain and The Court of Philip IV.: Spain in Decadence, examining the rise and decline of the Spanish Habsburg monarchy; The Great Lord Burghley, a study of Elizabethan statecraft; and The Courtships of Queen Elizabeth, on the queen's marriage diplomacy. His other books include The Wives of Henry the Eighth and the Parts They Played in History, The Year after the Armada, and Other Historical Studies, and the travel account Through Portugal. Writing for a general readership, Hume is clear and narrative in style, using court figures and diplomatic episodes to portray the age, and his works remain popular introductions to their subjects.