Confessions of a Literary Explorer

There are just some things when you’re on your travels that you just have to write home about. Send a postcard, take a picture of. Scenery is always top of the list for a booktrailer of course and books on location. But recently a journey to a literary destination has been more exciting than most.

The day I met my idol

As readers of this blog may know, I have always been inspired by Passepartout from the book Around the World in 80 Days. It was his book, his journey that started the booktrail and took me places far and wide. Passepartout inspired my love of languages and so I have a lot to thank him for. He was, is, my first fictional hero. Phileas Fogg too of course. Never thought I would meet him for real. I mean I’ve wanted to go to Narnia for years and have sat in numerous wardrobes as a child but somethings just stay dreams between the pages. However, last week I was invited to meet the real life Phileas Fogg – Michael Palin.

Michael Palin (c) TheBookTrail

I can’t express how excited I was to shake this man’s hand and to chat to him. It was as if I was looking into the eyes of Phileas Fogg himself. I can’t even begin to say how many times I’ve devoured his version of that amazing around the world journey – so  much so that sometimes a book can be loved too much I have found, so I took the second copy purchased which I’d kept pristine and never read. Does anyone else do this? Sometimes I get the mangled books signed for memories but this one was just too far gone. A page or two still lying in the Nevada desert somewhere too.

Levison Wood (c) TheBookTrail

Levison Wood provided the second awe- inspiring moment. And humourous moment when at a talk, an elderly lady turned to me as he came on stage and whispered “Well he’s a bit of all right in the flesh isn’t he!” We’d not spoken to each other before but this man had had such an effect on her, she just had to share it. To be fair, he was very impressive – very laid back, funny and amazed at his ‘star’ status. This is  a man who has travel and adventure in his blood and who keeps a white shirt to hand when he travels as you never know how you are going to meet.  Such as the Dalai Lama for example.

I came back up north with more books than I could carry. I also found the time to visit a bookshop or two before I caught the train home. Think I must have been the only person not bothered about the delayed journey. More reading time after all. More time to sit back and think of the day I actually met the real Phileas Fogg . The day I also met the real life Passepartout in a way as well – for Levison Wood has  already been to the Himalayas, along the Nile and across the Americas. Both inspirational figures. Levison also mentioned that his Passepartout on the Americas journey Alberto Caceres is now a life long friend. I know that feeling! Passepartouts are hard to come by and once you find them, hang on tight.

I now feel as if I’ve met Phileas Fogg and Passepartout for real, fictional characters who has been my inspiration for as long as I can remember. And for a literary traveller like me, that’s the best feeling ever.

Susan Booktrailer