Book description
In the 1920s, Gordon West and his wife decided they wanted to go
somewhere unexplored and unspoiled, right off the beaten tourist
route. They settled on the little-known island of Majorca.
Travelling via Paris and Barcelona, they finally boarded the small
white steamboat which was to take them to the idyllic Bay of Palma,
and there they began their exploration of the enchanting island,
sometimes in hair-raising motor rides round steep cliffs and on unmade
roads, sometimes by mule, and more often on foot. They lodged in
simple hotels, small houses, and once in a monastery, and everywhere
they observed the rich pageantry of a people whose customs, gentle
manners, and generous hospitality made Majorca a unique and
fascinating place.
Gordon West was born in 1896. He studied at the London School of
Economics and served in the Royal Navy in the First World War. After
the war he began a career in Journalism, at one time working as Editor
of Publications for the Liberal Party. He also toured the United
States with two presidential candidates in 1928 - Alfred E. Smith and
Herbert Hoover - in order to study the progress of American elections
for Lloyd George.
In the 1920s he was Foreign Correspondent for the Westminster
Gazette and during the years of the Second World War he was
Foreign Editor of the Daily Sketch.
It was in the late 1920s that Gordon West and Mary, his wife,
decided to explore the little-known island of Majorca, which was the
inspiration for Jogging Round Majorca.
