FLIGHTS of the IMAGINATION
Sometimes the best journeys are the ones you take in your imagination.
Travel, adventure and exploration are some of the most common themes in fiction, transporting readers to the most exotic locations on earth and often far beyond, to distant planets and rich fantasy worlds.
These stories can take somewhere real and add the fantastic, or make somewhere purely imaginary feel like it’s just outside your door.
At the turn of a page, readers can escape their surroundings for somewhere new, or be encouraged to see the places around them in a completely different way.
'Adventure may hurt you but monotony may kill you.'
From the Ancient Greek Epics of Homer, to the hero’s journey of Beowulf, right through to Phileas Fogg, James Bond and Dora the Explorer, fictional travellers have challenged and excited readers of all ages for thousands of years.
Can we always trust the narrators who lead us on these journeys of the imagination? Here are three remarkable travellers who blur the line between fact and fiction.
‘Somewhere in la Mancha, in a place whose name I do not care to remember…’
From the opening line of Don Quixote, first published in 1605 and now one of the most widely translated books of all time, doubt is cast about how much we can trust our narrator. Cervantes claimed that he was compiling true stories from a variety of sources, causing the reader to question what is real and what is fiction.
Even Don Quixote himself is confused and detached from reality, reading too many chivalric romances and believing himself to be a knight on a heroic campaign.
Miguel de Cervantes, El ingenioso hidalgo Don Quixote de la Mancha compuesto por Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra. En la imprenta de la Academia por la viuda de Ibarra, Hijos y Compañia. Madrid, 1787. DUL SC 10120
If you’ve been to Tenerife, he’s been to Elevenerife
A trip to Europe you could believe, to the centre of Mount Etna, maybe, but to the moon? Surely not!
These are just some of the adventures described by this fictional German nobleman, based on a real Baron known for exaggerating his military exploits.
The character’s habit of boasting about implausible travels led to the naming of Munchausen syndrome, a psychological condition where a patient presents imaginary symptoms of illness.
Rudolf Erich Raspe, The surprising travels and adventures of Baron Munchausen, in Russia, the Caspian Sea, Iceland, Turkey, Egypt, Gibralter, up the Mediterranean, on the Atlantic Ocean, and through the centre of Mount Ætna, into the South Sea; a voyage into the moon and dog star; with many extraordinary particulars relative to the cooking animals in those planets, which are there called the human species… London: Printed for the booksellers, c. 1792. DUL SC 06722
Illustrations of moon people from The surprising travels and adventures of Baron Munchausen
Illustrations of moon people from The surprising travels and adventures of Baron Munchausen
A Legendary Logbook
Among the strangest books in the Durham University collections is this water-stained diary, decorated with seashells. The book claims to be lost logbook of Christopher Columbus, thrown overboard during a storm, before being discovered off the coast of Pembrokeshire 400 years later.
In reality, the work is part of a series of books produced in the 1800s by German artist Carl Maria Seyppel, which also included imitations of plague accounts from Ancient Egypt.
The book was originally published in a more elaborate German-language edition and it is unclear whether Seyppel himself produced this English translation.
We do know that the artist went as far as to patent his technique for aging paper, though it is unlikely his efforts fooled many.
Carl Maria Seyppel, My secrete log boke [Düsseldorf]: [F. Rangette & sons], 1890. DUL SC 01647
Dive deeper into My Secret Log Book in this video produced by Durham University student Faye Thompson
Dive deeper into My Secret Log Book in this video produced by Durham University student Faye Thompson
'A world stripped of wonders and monsters is no longer adequate to the human imagination.'
Dennis Porter, Haunted Journeys
The Original Desert Island Story
Considered one of the first English novels, Robinson Crusoe tells the story of a castaway stranded on a remote tropical island in the Caribbean Sea. The phenomenal success and popularity of the novel led to a new literary genre, the Robinsonade, a term used to describe the many similar desert island stories that followed it.
The first edition of the book was presented as a genuine travel account, written by Crusoe himself, convincing many readers that the stories of shipwrecks and cannibals were all true events.
Daniel Defoe, The life and most surprising adventures of Robinson Crusoe, of York, mariner. Who lived eight and twenty years in an uninhabited island, on the coast of America, near the mouth of the great river Oroonoque, including an account of his deliverance thence, and his after surprising adventures. With his Vision of the angelic world ... To which is annexed, the remarkable history of Alexander Selkirk; who lived on the island of Juan Fernandez, in the Pacific Ocean. Dunbar: printed by, and for, G. Miller, 1801. DUL Routh 70.G.35
The Real Robinson Crusoe
Alexander Selkirk spent four years and four months isolated on Más a Tierra island in the South Pacific Ocean from 1704 - 1709. Selkirk built huts to sleep in and crafted tools in order to survive amongst the wildlife.
The story of Selkirk was one of Defoe’s inspirations while writing Robinson Crusoe in a strange case of fact inspiring fiction, which was then presented back to readers as fact. The island that was Selkirk’s home was even renamed Robinson Crusoe Island in the 1960s, further blurring the line between the real and the imaginary.
This book comes from the special collections of the University of Otago, New Zealand. Click here to find out more and visit their online exhibitions.
History of Alexander Selkirk, Mariner. Tewkesbury: Printed and sold by Dyde and Lewis, [18--]. de Beer Eb 1800 G
Alexander Selkirk was eventually rescued by English explorer William Dampier. Want to know more about Dampier and other European explorers in the Age of Discovery? CLICK BELOW to change course for our Curiosity and Conquest exhibition.
The line between fact and fiction can be strange...
You won’t find Weatherfield in Manchester or Central Perk in New York, but you may spot Platform 9¾ in Kings Cross Station.
Middle Earth and Camp Crystal Lake won’t appear on your map, but if you find yourself in the right forest, at the right time of day, it might just feel like you’re there.
Often, authors use imaginary places to make a comment on the world we live in. You may never have visited these fictional settings, but they are much closer to home than you think.
A Perfect Island Society?
Thomas More’s Utopia was inspired by the author’s diplomatic missions to the Low Countries and conversations with fellow humanists such as Erasmus of Rotterdam. In the work he describes the structure of society on his fictional island of Utopia, as well as the culture and lifestyle of its inhabitants.
Seen as a satire on English religious and political systems, the work was widely debated upon publication. Today the book is credited for bringing the word ‘utopia’, meaning a perfect place or society, into common usage, with the idea becoming a popular literary theme, particularly in science fiction.
Thomas More, Libellus vere aureus nec minus salutaris quam festiuus de optimo reip. statu, deq[ue] noua insula Vtopia authore clarissimo viro Thoma Moro inclytae civitatis Londinensis cive & vicecomite cura M. Petri Aegidii Antverpiensis, & arte Theodorici Martini Alustensis, Typographie Martini Alustensis, Typographie almae Lovaniensium Academiae nunc primum accuratissime editus [Louvain]: arte Theodorici Martini ... typographi almae Louaniensium Academiae, 1516. DUL SB 0300
Map and alphabet from Utopia
Map and alphabet from Utopia
From Utopia to Dystopia
The chilling societies found in dystopian fiction can serve as a warning, offering a vision of the future that may feel all too real. That was certainly the case for readers of this work by Joseph Hall.
Closely imitating a genuine travel account using maps, coordinates and depictions of foreign coins, Hall’s voyage through fictional islands in the southern hemisphere is actually a journey into the widespread corruption and decay he saw in English society.
The islands that Hall visits include Crapulia and Moronia, which criticise the gluttony, drunkenness, religious corruption and political incompetence he saw in London at the time.
Joseph Hall, Mundus alter et idem sive Terra Australis ante hac semper incognita longis itineribus peregrini academici nuperrime lustrata. Auth. Mercurio Britannico sumptibus haeredium Ascanij de Renialme. Hannoviae [Hanau]: per Gulielmum Antoniu[m], 1607. DUL Routh 66.K.10
Map of the world as described in Mundus alter et idem
Map of the world as described in Mundus alter et idem
Gulliver’s Travels
On four great voyages to remote parts of the world, our hero Gulliver encounters many strange sights, from the tiny citizens of Lilliput to the floating island of Laputa. Each of the four nations he visits mirrors a different aspect of British society and politics and the many references mean the work can be read as both utopian and anti-utopian.
Equally enjoyed by children for its humour and adults for its social satire, the book was widely translated and has been enjoyed all over the world for centuries. This German edition from our collections contains illustrations by J. J. Grandville.
Jonathan Swift, Gülliver's Reisen zu verschiedenen entfernten Nationen der Welt. Von Jonathan Swift. Nach der englischen Originalaugabe neu übersezt von L. von Albensleben. Meissen: bei J. W. Goedsche, 1838-1839. DUL Winterbottom H90
We all have dreams, fantasies and flights of the imagination. The brain travels faster than any plane, train or boat and this everyday superpower allows us to break from our daily activities and take us wherever we want to be.
The places we visit in our minds may not be real but they can bring us excitement, fill us with the spirit of adventure and make us question how we view the world.
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