Tag Archives: Ethel Crowley

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Life at Full Tilt

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Edited by Ethel Crowley – Foreword by Colin Thubron ( Published by Eland)

“Few people, in any age, can have travelled a wider range of countries so arduously.” Colin Thubron, London 2023

The first book of Dervla Murphy’s that I read was her autobiography Wheels with Wheels. From the start I was gripped by her courage. An only child, born in 1931 in Lismore, Ireland, she had to leave school at the age of 14 to look after her invalid mother. She continued that duty until her mother died in 1962, and then she began to travel.

In this book Ethel Crowley has selected extracts from 24 of Dervla Murphy’s books, arranging them in decades dating from the 1930s to 2015, when she travelled to the Middle East.

Dervla Murphy went just about everywhere, and she never took the easy route anywhere, often preferring to travel by bicycle, or on foot, or with a mule. There was real hardship and there were unenviable lodgings. There were perilous crossings of mountains and rivers. There was danger and isolation, but somehow she just kept going, kept trusting that people would look after her and that all would be well.

“Attempts to control the future seem needlessly to limit its possibilities. If this view were general, anarchy would overtake the world. But one hopes there is room for a minority of non-planners.”

In an extract selected for this book from Wheels within Wheels by Dervla Murphy

Thankfully all was well, or became so, and despite suffering everything from attempted robberies and rapes, to many bone breaks, including a fractured pelvis, and any number of illnesses, she did return from her travels with her notebooks full of observations and conversations to then pass on through her books – the books and her body bearing witness to all that she did.

The privilege of reading Life at Full Tilt is that it selects extracts from each of her books. Until reading this selection I had no idea that Dervla Murphy had travelled to, and written about, places such as Northern Ireland, and Bradford and Birmingham, as well as Cameroon, and Cuba, Afghanistan, Siberia and beyond. I found it fascinating to hear her voice in each, and to see the places through her eyes.

For me, the other pleasure of Life at Full Tilt, are the pages at the beginning and end, all written by those who knew Dervla Murphy well. I loved hearing more about her life and who she was.

Now I have finished reading I am sad to have to put the book down. I shall miss being in the company of such a truly extraordinary traveller, researcher, writer, survivor and genuine voice. The good news is that all the books I have caught glimpses of are out there waiting to be read.

My thanks to Eland for sending me this copy of Life at Full Tilt.

Copyright Georgie Knaggs & The Phraser 2023

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The meaning of travel and adventure

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“She travelled on the edge of the edge itself.” Ethel Crowley about Dervla Murphy

Today I heard a mountaineer and expedition leader being asked if travel and adventure were still possible. He replied that they were, and the interviewer then went into detail about the adventurer’s various trips. I was impressed, but not in the way I am when I read of Dervla Murphy’s exploits.

Ethel Crowley is the editor of the recently published book Life at Full Tilt – The Selected Writings of Dervla Murphy. I have almost finished the book and my mind is out on stalks. How did Dervla Murphy survive her travels?

This is not to say that travel has to involve terrifying ascents, or being mugged by children in Albania, but it does seem to be part of what extreme travellers do, and Dervla Murphy was one of those. Truly extraordinary resilience, as well as such good ‘being there in the moment’ and ‘looking at others’ skills. She did the extraoardinary and the ordinary, from Bradford to faraway Siberia, and met the locals wherever she could, showing us herself and others, so we could think about ourselves.

That to me is real travel. It doesn’t have to be Everest. All you have to do is step outside your front door and start really looking. Life is the big adventure.

(The photograph above is of part of the press release that Eland Publishing sent me with the copy of Life at Full Tilt.)

Copyright Georgie Knaggs & The Phraser 2023

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At last – some time to read this

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Dervla Murphy wrote over twenty books. I have read just two so far – Wheels within Wheels, and Full Tilt. I enjoyed both – really enjoyed both. For me there is something so inspiring about being in the company of a real travel writer, someone seemingly unimpeded by the need for any kind of comfort zone.

Ethel Crowley, who selected the pieces in this edition, was a great friend of Dervla Murphy’s and has chosen extracts from each of her 24 books. The forward tells me that they started work on the project together but that Dervla Murphy passed away shortly after they began, leaving her family to continue giving this new book the same trusting support that she had.

Now these extracts, drawn together with real knowledge and affection, are sitting next to me. Together they contain miles and miles of life observed. All I have to do is pick up Life at Full Tilt and start to read.

My thanks to Eland Publishing for sending me this copy.

Copyright Georgie Knaggs & The Phraser 2023