Travels with a Donkey in the Cévennes was published by C. Kegan Paul in 1879. In September and October 1878, Stevenson undertook a twelve-day solo hike through the Cévennes mountains of southern France, accompanied by Modestine, a small donkey he purchased to carry his pack. The route covered roughly 120 miles through a landscape shaped by the Camisard religious wars of the early eighteenth century — a Protestant rebellion against Louis XIV’s persecution that Stevenson found deeply sympathetic.
The book is a classic of outdoor travel writing — arguably the founding text of the modern hiking memoir. Stevenson’s account of sleeping under the stars (he invented a precursor of the modern sleeping bag for the trip), his running battle with the intractable Modestine, and his observations on the landscape and inhabitants of the Cévennes have been imitated by thousands of subsequent travel writers.
Collecting Travels with a Donkey in the Cévennes
First edition (C. Kegan Paul, London, 1879): Green cloth.
Market values:
- First edition, fine: $1,500–$4,000
- First edition, very good: $500–$1,500
- Good: $200–$500
Projected values (2026–2036): Strong appreciation. An early Stevenson classic.
The First Trek
In 1878, Stevenson walked 120 miles through the Cévennes mountains of southern France with a recalcitrant donkey named Modestine. The resulting book (1879) is one of the first modern travel narratives: personal, digressive, attentive to landscape and mood, and written with the literary grace that would make Stevenson famous. The book pioneered the genre of literary walking — the tradition that runs through Hilaire Belloc, Patrick Leigh Fermor, and Robert Macfarlane.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can you walk the Stevenson Trail today? Yes. The GR 70 (Grande Randonnée 70), also known as the Chemin de Stevenson, follows Stevenson’s route through the Cévennes. It is one of France’s most popular long-distance walking trails, attracting thousands of hikers annually, many of whom carry Stevenson’s book as a guide.