A Time of Gifts

On Foot to Constantinople: from the Hook of Holland to the Middle Danube

By: Patrick Leigh Fermor

Narrated by: Crispin Redman

In 1933, at the age of 18, Patrick Leigh Fermor set out on an extraordinary journey by foot - from the Hook of Holland to Constantinople. A Time of Gifts is the first volume in a trilogy recounting the trip, and takes the listener with him as far as Hungary.

It is a book of compelling glimpses - not only of the events that were curdling Europe at that time, but also of its resplendent domes and monasteries, its great rivers, the sun on the Bavarian snow, the storks and frogs, the hospitable burgomasters who welcomed him, and that world's grandeurs and courtesies. His powers of recollection have astonishing sweep and verve, and the scope is majestic.

©1977 The estate of Patrick Leigh Fermor (P)2014 Hodder & Stoughton

Critic reviews

"Nothing short of a masterpiece" (Jan Morris)
"Not only is the journey one of physical adventure but of cultural awakening. Architecture, art, genealogy, quirks of history and language are all devoured - and here passed on - with a gusto uniquely his" (Colin Thubron, Sunday Telegraph)
"Rightly considered to be among the most beautiful travel books in the language" ( Independent)

Very Dated

This was on the recommended reading list prior to a river cruise along the same route of this book. It was definitely dated. Many references to freeloading and getting repetitively drunk made me realize that the experience in the book could not be repeated today. The author was often eloquent but also wavered with wordiness. At times, it seemed that he was just trying to appear educated. Overall this was good but not great.

Lots of flowery talk

Not sure I got much out of the book. I guess I was looking for more information about the area at hand. The way the narrator spoke was enjoyable to listen to. No one I know speaks like that. Probably for good reason.

A delight

I first read this book when it was published in something like 1987. I loved it then and vowed that one day I too would travel down the Danube. I’ve just listened to it read so amazingly well by Crispin Redman, as part of preparation for the river cruise down the Danube I have just booked (at last). It was even better than I remembered. Delightful and thought-provoking.

A bit too much “brio” on the readers part.

I maybe the only listener who feels distracted by the readers’s enthusiasm from the beauty of Fermor’s language. I can’t quite capture the flow of the sentences due to an astonishing amount of excessive expression. I can’t see well enough to read, otherwise I’d have listened to my nerves and read the book instead.

Elegance of description

Know Time of Gifts well. Distracted by the reader’s overly dramatic & affected reading. Had to slow down pace to x.9 to comprehend. Not sure if I could stand a reading by him of Between the Woods & the Water.