The adventures of Patrick "Paddy" Leigh Fermor, Britain's most beloved traveler, began in 1933, when he embarked on a walk from Holland to Constantinople--the entire length of Europe--at the tender age of eighteen. After that, he never stopped moving.

Words of Mercury collects pieces from every stage of Fermor's life, from his journey through Eastern Europe just before the outbreak of the Second World War--described in gorgeous, meditative detail--to his encounter with voodoo in Haiti to his attempt to write a book sequestered in a monastic retreat in Normandy to his legendary wartime exploits, including kidnapping a German general. Ever the student, Fermor also wrote extensively on his encounters with polymaths, linguists, and artists all over the world.

Over the course of his illustrious lifetime, Fermor wrote several acclaimed travel books, countless essays, translations, and book reviews, many of which are compiled in this anthology. His unique experiences out in the world fed his insatiable curiosity and voracious appetite for scholarship, and his tales, composed in a singular, elegant style, have inspired generations of writers and continue to shape the language and sophisticated art of travel.