Map Stories by Francisca Mattéoli

Remember your first world atlas, your very own? Apart from images of the globe, the cover of mine was black with white letters. I was ten or eleven years old and devoured it. Maps have a strange attraction and seem to offer a possibility of great adventures. I have always had a soft spot for vintage maps, especially the illustrated ones that are far-off geographically. Throw in sea monsters and sailing ships and they become even more enchanting. You can only imagine my excitement when a few months ago I received the latest book by travel writer Francisca Mattéoli, Map Stories: The Art of Discovery, published by Octopus (Ilex). Through a wonderful collection of historical maps and twenty-three stories, Mattéoli takes us on an adventure all over the globe where we meet cartographers, geographers, explorers and dreamers. For me it sometimes felt as if entering a dimension where Bilbo Baggins meets Indiana Jones.

Map of the Nile Valley drawn up by Nicolas de Fer and published in 1720, pp. 44-45

Mattéoli isn't a scholar in the field of geography and her book shouldn't be read as a textbook. In the preface she writes: 'It is a book that invites the reader on a journey from map to map, to let their imagination run free' (p. 7). That's indeed the book's charm.

Mattéoli's journey starts with the rediscovery of the lost city of Petra and ends in China via the Silk Road. In between we find ourselves on the Inca trail, on the mysterious site of Machu Picchu; racing to the South Pole; on Route 66; searching for the source of the Nile River; on board the Orient Express; perhaps wondering if Nessie the monster is hiding somewhere in Loch Ness. These are only some of the destinations.

Planisphere by the Venetian monk Fra Mauro, c. 1449, pp. 100-101

Depending on your interests and historical knowledge, some of the twenty-three stories will be more familiar than others and some might teach you something new. I was intrigued by the one about the search for the source of the Nile River - the expedition of Richard Burton and John Speke - that reads somewhat like a mystery with a dramatic ending. The following is a description (from a photo) of the Map Room of the Royal Geographical Society:

[It] is plunged in a dusty half-light and decorated with maps, as one might expect. An enormous terrestrial globe fills one corner. On the upper floor, dark wood shelves are stacked with carefully arranged documents and books. On the ground floor, two large display cabinets protect the most precious objects and on a long table standing in the center of the room, pages lie spread out as if waiting to be consulted by some very serious gentleman. This was the setting that would soon be at the heart of the scandal. It was here, or at least in a similar room of this distinguished institution founded in 1830 that, around a hundred years ago, a disagreement broke out regarding the source of this fabled river, which would soon turn into a downright controversy and then a brutal confrontation. (p. 42)

Map of the South Pole, 1912, pp. 120-121

Some of the adventurers we meet on Mattéoli's journey are Thomas Edward Lawrence, better known as Lawrence of Arabia, Roald Amundsen, the Norwegian explorer who was the first to reach the South Pole, and Peter Fleming (brother of Ian Fleming), who in 1932 joined an Amazon expedition after seeing an advertisement in The Times (his book Brazilian Adventure, first published in 1933, is still in print).

Map Stories enables us to admire the work of famous cartographers like Fra Mauro (see my 2nd image above), Fernão (Fernando) Vaz Dourado, Nicolas de Fer (see Nile Valley map above), Willem Blaeu and his son Joan, Martin Behaim, Pedro Reinel and Lopo Homem, Jodocus Hondius, Guillaume Le Testu, and John Speed, just to name a few.

This book has something for everyone. And if you find yourself online looking up old travel trunks, or other vintage travel paraphernalia, I completely understand.

Map of Chile, 1884, p. 157

I am particularly fond of the design of the book that is a beautiful addition to my coffee table. The map on the cover is embossed and the endpapers are an old world map with illustrations of principal mountains and basins of rivers (see map). The layout of the text is clear and at the top of the left pages are the coordinates for the place being discussed. The maps are either on a single page or spread across two. I wanted to cut some of them out and frame them, which, unfortunately, would have ruined the book.

Travel writer Francisca Mattéoli

Travel writer Francisca Mattéoli is the author of many books, which have been translated into many languages. She has also written travel pieces for magazines, including National Geographic, Condé Nast Traveller, and Air France Magazine. Her personal blog is written in both French and English. She resides in Paris but was actually brought up in South America with Chilean nationality (Scottish mother). She is already working on her next book.

Map Stories: The Art of Discovery
By Francisca Mattéoli
Octopus
Hardcover, 176 pages, illustrated
Buy here

Part of a map of Europe for use in primary education, dating from 1880, p. 143

images by me | except for No. 2, 4-6, courtesy of Octopus Publishing Group (No. 5 edited by me) | maps - credit: No. 1 (cover) © akg-images/North Wind Picture Archives; No. 2, 4-5, 7 © Bibliothèque Nationale de France; No. 3 © akg-images/British Library

Reading with my Persian

I have established a Friday routine that I now cherish. At a certain hour I put on comfy clothes and spruce up the home for the weekend until it's time for a coffee break. This is the point where our Persian cat usually appears, jumps on the coffee table, squeezes himself between the books and takes a good time to find the right spot. He watches me while I read and drink coffee and we 'talk'. He starts purring and I stroke him, then he gets up, moves around in circles until he finds the perfect spot again and falls asleep; sleeps for hours in the same spot. I snapped the photo around noon before he fell asleep and about five hours later he's still sleeping! The kids have come home from school and watched Netflix in the living room and it makes no difference, nothing disturbs his peace. So precious.

Today I was reading two books: The postman has finally delivered the memoir Avid Reader: A Life by editor Robert Gottlieb, which I put on my latest reading list. Last Friday, about an hour after I shared my list, the postman rang the bell with a package, a gift from travel writer Francisca Mattéoli, a copy of her Map Stories: The Art of Discovery - such a beautiful book with vintage maps and wonderful stories. I'm thoroughly enjoying it. I will share my review later.

Have a good weekend!

Maps | Marinated chicken drumsticks

By now I thought I would be able to share photos of gorgeous spring blossoms but this year spring is arriving with slight hiccups. There are daffodils and crocuses in bloom, but I have my eyes on this one particular magnolia tree in the village that is preparing to show off. When the day comes that I turn the corner and see it in bloom, that's when spring has sprung for me. And what has that got to do with maps and drumsticks? Absolutely nothing.

Maps from the books The Food of France, illustrated by Russell Bryant,
and The Food of India, by Rosanna Vecchio

Recently my 9-year old was working on a project for school about food and food miles, which made us talk a lot about food, or let's say more than usual. Since pizza is his favourite it was sort of given that Italy would find its way into his project. That's where my map of Italy came in handy. Since then it has been spread out on my table and has led to some serious map-mania (I love illustrated maps) and travel discussions: One wants to go to Japan, another to Fiji or Hawaii. I even got the question, Mom, what's it like in North Korea?, which made me wonder if they served latte over there. I cannot say that drinking latte in North Korea is on my bucket list but who knows what the future holds?

I'm not sure what I would do without Google maps but I have to say that nothing replaces the feeling of spreading out a map on a table and making travel plans, or just daydreaming.

With Easter coming up I was thinking about what to prepare in the kitchen. When I think about my childhood and Easter I remember chocolate eggs and fancy meals. I don't know about you but at Easter I like to keep things simple. I see no need to spend hours in the kitchen preparing something, which made me think of chicken drumsticks.

The simplicity of preparing and cooking marinated drumsticks appeals to me. I like marinated chicken but I don't want the taste of the marinade to overpower the taste of the meat. Perhaps that philosophy applies to all my cooking; I'm not particularly fond of one dominant taste. I recommend letting the drumsticks marinate in the fridge overnight. When serving them with rice I usually roast sesame seeds on a pan and sprinkle them over the rice before serving.

MARINATED CHICKEN DRUMSTICKS

9-10 chicken drumsticks, preferably free-range
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 tablespoon tamari sauce
1 tablespoon orange juice, freshly squeezed
1 red chilli
small piece of fresh ginger
optional: a few drops Tabasco sauce

Remove the seeds and finely chop the chilli. Peel and finely chop the ginger.

Put the chicken drumsticks with all the ingredients in a large freezer bag. Seal the bag and rotate it to make sure that all the drumsticks are coated with the marinade. Place the bag in a bowl in the fridge and let the chicken marinate for at least 2-4 hours, preferably overnight, turning occasionally.

Once the chicken has marinated, place the drumsticks on a baking tray with a rack. Cook in the oven at 200°C/400°F (180° fan oven) for 35 minutes (until the juices are no longer pink).

Serve with, for example, white or brown basmati rice and tamari sauce, and perhaps with sliced avocado and red peppers on the side.

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