--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Mark Twain was a great traveler and he…" description: "\"Mark Twain was a great traveler and he wrote three or four great travel books. I wouldn't say that I'm a travel novelist but rather a novelist who trav..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a29/paul-theroux-913_backgrounds_mark-twain-was-a-great-traveler-and-he-w_1302940.jpg" --- # Mark Twain was a great traveler and he wrote three or four… ![“Mark Twain was a great traveler and he wrote three or four great travel books. I wouldn't say that I'm a travel novelist but rather a novelist who travels - and who uses travel as a background for finding stories of places.” quote by Paul Theroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a29/paul-theroux-913_backgrounds_mark-twain-was-a-great-traveler-and-he-w_1302940.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a29/paul-theroux-913_backgrounds_mark-twain-was-a-great-traveler-and-he-w_1302940.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a29/paul-theroux-913_backgrounds_mark-twain-was-a-great-traveler-and-he-w_1302940.jpg) > “Mark Twain was a great traveler and he wrote three or four great travel books. I wouldn't say that I'm a travel novelist but rather a novelist who travels - and who uses travel as a background for finding stories of places.” [Paul Theroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-theroux/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Travel is a lens for storytelling; the writer travels physically and mentally to uncover narratives of place. **In simple terms:** Travel fuels storytelling. Key Takeaway Use travel to discover new perspectives. Themes exploration storytelling culture observation Mood curious inspired Type literary reflective When to use this quote - journalism - fiction writing - documentary filmmaking - educational tours Key Concepts travel literature narrative technique Questions to Reflect On - How does travel change your perception of story? - What places inspire your best writing? A Different Perspective Travel can be superficial without depth. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Backgrounds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/backgrounds/) [Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Findings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/findings/) [Four](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/four/) [Great Traveler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/great-traveler-4285309/) [Mark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mark/) [Mark twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mark-twain/) [Novelist Travels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/novelist-travels-4285308/) [Novelists](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/novelists/) [Stories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stories/) [Three](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/three/) [Travel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/travel/) [Travel Novelist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/travel-novelist-4285307/) [Traveler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/traveler/) [Traveler Wrote](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/traveler-wrote-3479064/) [Use](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/use/) ## Related quotes > [I wouldn't say that I'm a travel novelist, but rather a novelist who travels - and who uses travel as a background for finding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-theroux/i-wouldn-t-say-that-i-m-a-travel-novelist-but-rather-a-novelist-who/) [Paul Theroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-theroux/) > [“I am a traveler," he wrote, "going somewhere and to some destination...only the somewhere and the destination do not exist”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-am-a-traveler-he-wrote-going-somewhere-and-to-some-destination-only/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [A travel book is a book that puts you in the shoes of the traveler, and it's usually a book about having a very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-theroux/a-travel-book-is-a-book-that-puts-you-in-the-shoes-of-the-traveler-2/) [Paul Theroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-theroux/) > [Now and then in travel, something unexpected happens that transforms the whole nature of the trip and stays with the traveler.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-theroux/now-and-then-in-travel-something-unexpected-happens-that-transforms/) [Paul Theroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-theroux/) > [It is fatal to know too much at the outcome: boredom comes as quickly to the traveler who knows his route as to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-theroux/it-is-fatal-to-know-too-much-at-the-outcome-boredom-comes-as-quickly-2/) [Paul Theroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-theroux/) > [A travel book is a book that puts you in the shoes of the traveler, and it's usually a book about having a very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-theroux/a-travel-book-is-a-book-that-puts-you-in-the-shoes-of-the-traveler/) [Paul Theroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-theroux/) > [The traveler's boast, sometimes couched as a complaint, is that of having been an eyewitness, and invariably this experience - shocking though it may…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-theroux/the-traveler-s-boast-sometimes-couched-as-a-complaint-is-that-of/) [Paul Theroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-theroux/) > [A national crisis, a political convulsion, is an opportunity, a gift to the traveler. Nothing is more revealing of a place to a stranger…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-theroux/a-national-crisis-a-political-convulsion-is-an-opportunity-a-gift-to/) [Paul Theroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-theroux/) > [Africa is really a place for the wealthy traveler. It's got some nice hotels, but they're very expensive hotels. It doesn't really cater to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-theroux/africa-is-really-a-place-for-the-wealthy-traveler-it-s-got-some-nice/) [Paul Theroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-theroux/) > [The wish to disappear sends many travelers away. If you are thoroughly sick of being kept waiting at home or at work, travel is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-theroux/the-wish-to-disappear-sends-many-travelers-away-if-you-are-thoroughly/) [Paul Theroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-theroux/) > [The critique of social inequality, which is very much a part of my story, came about naturally from my recollection of Huck and Tom…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-lock/the-critique-of-social-inequality-which-is-very-much-a-part-of-my/) [Norman Lock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-lock/) > [Where is it written that if you don't like religion you are somehow disqualified from being a legitimate American? What was Mark Twain, a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hendrik-hertzberg/where-is-it-written-that-if-you-don-t-like-religion-you-are-somehow/) [Hendrik Hertzberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hendrik-hertzberg/) > [As a Nobel Prize winner I cannot but regret that the award was never given to Mark Twain, nor to Henry James, speaking only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/as-a-nobel-prize-winner-i-cannot-but-regret-that-the-award-was-never/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [“I told him that if we doubted that we are demons in Hell, he should read The Mysterious Stranger, which Mark Twain wrote in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/i-told-him-that-if-we-doubted-that-we-are-demons-in-hell-he-should/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“China reminds me most of America at its own moment of transformation—the period that Mark Twain and Charles Warner named the Gilded Age, when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evan-osnos/china-reminds-me-most-of-america-at-its-own-moment-of-transformation/) [Evan Osnos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evan-osnos/) ## More by Paul Theroux > [I feel as if my mission is to write, to see, to observe, and I feel lazy if I'm not reaching conclusions. I feel…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-theroux/i-feel-as-if-my-mission-is-to-write-to-see-to-observe-and-i-feel-lazy/) [Paul Theroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-theroux/) > [The larger an English industry was, the more likely it was to go bankrupt, because the English were not naturally corporate people; they disliked…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-theroux/the-larger-an-english-industry-was-the-more-likely-it-was-to-go/) [Paul Theroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-theroux/) > [Maine out of season is unmistakably a great destination: hospitable, good-humored, plenty of elbow room, short days, dark nights of crackling ice crystals.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-theroux/maine-out-of-season-is-unmistakably-a-great-destination-hospitable/) [Paul Theroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-theroux/) > [You can't write about a friend, you can only write about a former friend.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-theroux/you-can-t-write-about-a-friend-you-can-only-write-about-a-former/) [Paul Theroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-theroux/) > [“sightseeing, an activity that delights the truly idle because it seems so much like scholarship, gawping and eavesdropping on antiquity, flattering oneself with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-theroux/sightseeing-an-activity-that-delights-the-truly-idle-because-it-seems/) [Paul Theroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-theroux/) > [The Australian Book of Etiquette is a very slim volume.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-theroux/the-australian-book-of-etiquette-is-a-very-slim-volume/) [Paul Theroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-theroux/) > [Tourists who go to Africa have more of a traditional experience than Africans do. A tourist goes on safari; Africans don't.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-theroux/tourists-who-go-to-africa-have-more-of-a-traditional-experience-than/) [Paul Theroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-theroux/) > [In a way, Che Guevara's fate was far worse than Simon Bolivar's. Guevara's collapse was complete: his intentions were forgotten, but his style was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-theroux/in-a-way-che-guevara-s-fate-was-far-worse-than-simon-bolivar-s/) [Paul Theroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-theroux/) > [It is the simplest fact of Indian life: there are too many Indians.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-theroux/it-is-the-simplest-fact-of-indian-life-there-are-too-many-indians/) [Paul Theroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-theroux/) > [Pain does not create a long-lasting memory, but the memory of luxury exerts itself for ever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-theroux/pain-does-not-create-a-long-lasting-memory-but-the-memory-of-luxury/) [Paul Theroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-theroux/) > [When I began to make some money, I really wanted to have a home.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-theroux/when-i-began-to-make-some-money-i-really-wanted-to-have-a-home/) [Paul Theroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-theroux/) > [Men in their late 50s often make very bad decisions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-theroux/men-in-their-late-50s-often-make-very-bad-decisions/) [Paul Theroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-theroux/) > [The wish to disappear sends many travelers away. 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So it's a paradox of this sort of parallel life.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-theroux/to-a-lot-of-africans-seeing-an-animal-is-a-something-of-a-rarity-so/) [Paul Theroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-theroux/) > [The wish to travel seems to me characteristically human: the desire to move, to satisfy your curiosity or ease your fears, to change the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-theroux/the-wish-to-travel-seems-to-me-characteristically-human-the-desire-to/) [Paul Theroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-theroux/) [Explore all 328 Paul Theroux quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-theroux/) ## More Backgrounds quotes > [We do not want to be reminded that it is we, the indigenous people, who are poor and exploited in the land of our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-biko/we-do-not-want-to-be-reminded-that-it-is-we-the-indigenous-people-who/) [Steven Biko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-biko/) > [When you see how fragile and delicate life can be, all else fades into the background.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenna-morasca/when-you-see-how-fragile-and-delicate-life-can-be-all-else-fades-into/) [Jenna Morasca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenna-morasca/) > [Worship is not about personality, temperament, personal limitations, church background, or comfort. It is about God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-wimber/worship-is-not-about-personality-temperament-personal-limitations/) [John Wimber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-wimber/) > [Eventually the consumer will come to appreciate the editorial point of view of every different brand. User-generated content without editorial oversight will simply be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-eisner/eventually-the-consumer-will-come-to-appreciate-the-editorial-point/) [Michael Eisner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-eisner/) > [I bring my classical training - some of it, but not all of it - and also my background and culture, to spirituals. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathleen-battle/i-bring-my-classical-training-some-of-it-but-not-all-of-it-and-also/) [Kathleen Battle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathleen-battle/) > [The acting background helped a lot when I started writing. I was training for it. In acting class they teach you about the stakes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carol-higgins-clark/the-acting-background-helped-a-lot-when-i-started-writing-i-was/) [Carol Higgins Clark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carol-higgins-clark/) > [In the dim background of our mind we know meanwhile what we ought to be doing: getting up, dressing ourselves, answering the person who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/in-the-dim-background-of-our-mind-we-know-meanwhile-what-we-ought-to/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [I think it is a sin to look at another person as inferior to yourself because of race or because of ethnic background and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-graham/i-think-it-is-a-sin-to-look-at-another-person-as-inferior-to-yourself/) [Billy Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-graham/) > [The thing that is making jazz healthy today is that people are coming out of other backgrounds - from rock, folk, from ethnic music.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-taylor/the-thing-that-is-making-jazz-healthy-today-is-that-people-are-coming/) [Billy Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-taylor/) > [We do not have to be ashamed of what we are. 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I wouldn't say that I'm a travel novelist but rather a novelist who travels - and who uses travel as a background for finding stories of places.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Paul Theroux" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-theroux/mark-twain-was-a-great-traveler-and-he-wrote-three-or-four-great/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Backgrounds" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-theroux/mark-twain-was-a-great-traveler-and-he-wrote-three-or-four-great/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a29/paul-theroux-913_backgrounds_mark-twain-was-a-great-traveler-and-he-w_1302940.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a29/paul-theroux-913_backgrounds_mark-twain-was-a-great-traveler-and-he-w_1302940.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a29/paul-theroux-913_backgrounds_mark-twain-was-a-great-traveler-and-he-w_1302940.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Mark Twain was a great traveler and he wrote three or four great travel books. 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