PALMA
ONE of the earliest travel guides ever written about the Balearics has been published in Catalan for the first time.
Originally released in 1911 by renowned British novellist Mary Stuart Boyd, The Fortunate Isles: Life and travel in Majorca, Minorca and Ibiza, is a fascinating insight into life in the region just before the First World War that has largely been ignored since the middle of the 20th century.
Mary and her husband Alexander Stuart Boyd were cultured Glaswegians well-known in London's social circles.
Much of their time was spent travelling and while Mary penned several guides and novels, husband of 31 years, Alexander was a respected artist and illustrator for Punch and The Graphic and also a regular exhibitor at the Royal Academy.
At their St John's Wood home, guests would mingle with the cream of artistic London - famous authors and playwrights such as Sir James Barrie, the author of Peter Pan, and Rudyard Kipling.
The Fortunate Isles was described as a book beautifully written, by a critic at the time.