The Kingdom by the Sea

The Kingdom by the Sea
AuthorPaul Theroux[1]
SubjectTravel
PublisherPenguin Books[2]
Publication date
1983[3]
Preceded byThe Old Patagonian Express 
Followed bySailing Through China 

The Kingdom by the Sea: A Journey Around Great Britain, originally published in 1983,[4] is the account of a three-month-long journey taken by novelist Paul Theroux around the United Kingdom in the summer of 1982. Starting his journey in London, he takes a train to Margate on the English coast. He then travels roughly clockwise round the British coastline, mainly by train, getting as far north as Cape Wrath. He ends his journey in Southend. 1982 was the summer of the Falklands War and the year when Prince William was born.

The title of the book is taken from the opening lines of the poem Annabel Lee by Edgar Allan Poe: It was many and many a year ago/ In a kingdom by the sea,/ That a maiden there lived whom you may know/ By the name of Annabel Lee.

  1. ^ Duncan Minshull (4 September 2014). While Wandering: A Walking Companion. Random House. pp. 278–. ISBN 978-1-4481-9192-5.
  2. ^ Helmut Kuzmics; Roland Axtmann (2 March 2017). Authority, State and National Character: The Civilizing Process in Austria and England, 1700–1900. Taylor & Francis. pp. 511–. ISBN 978-1-351-95650-5.
  3. ^ James A. Clapp (31 January 2014). The City: A Dictionary of Quotable Thoughts on Cities and Urban Life. CUPR/Transaction. pp. 349–. ISBN 978-1-4128-5070-4.
  4. ^ Alfred Bendixen; Judith Hamera (29 January 2009). The Cambridge Companion to American Travel Writing. Cambridge University Press. pp. 141–. ISBN 978-0-521-86109-0.