John Murray decided
that something better was needed.
Of the origin of the Guide-books Mr. John Murray the Third has given
the following account in Murray's Magazine for November 1889.
"Since so many thousands of persons have profited by these books, it may
be of some interest to the public to learn their origin, and the cause
which led me to prepare them. Having from my early youth been possessed
by an ardent desire to travel, my very indulgent father acceded to my
request, on condition that I should prepare myself by mastering the
language of the country I was to travel in. Accordingly, in 1829, having
brushed up my German, I first set foot on the Continent at Rotterdam,
and my 'Handbook for Holland' gives the results of my personal
observations and private studies of that wonderful country.
"At that time such a thing as a Guide-book for Germany, France, or Spain
did not exist. The only Guides deserving the name were: Ebel, for
Switzerland; Boyce, for Belgium; and Mrs. Starke, for Italy. Hers was a
work of real utility, because, amidst a singular medley of classical
lore, borrowed from Lempriere's Dictionary, interwoven with details
regulating the charges in washing-bills at Sorrento and Naples, and an
elaborate theory on the origin of _Devonshire Cream_, in which she
proves that it was brought by Phoenician colonists from Asia Minor into
the West of England, it contained much practical information gathered on
the spot.
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