勞倫斯畢生以四海為家。青年時代剛踏入文壇,他就曾與情人私奔歐洲大陸,徜徉山水之際,尋找優游自在之鄉。其間,與意大利結下不解之緣。本書從他撰於青年時期的第一部、也是最知名的遊記《意大利的黃昏》(Twilight in Italy)中精選了三篇:〈加爾達湖的檸檬園〉、〈漂泊的異鄉人〉、〈歸途〉,內裏記錄了他1912-1916年間從奧地利、德國、瑞士等地徒步往意大利旅行時的見聞與反省。勞倫斯對當地風土人
′There was one place in the world that stood solid and did not melt into unreality: the place where his mother was. Everybody else could grow shadowy, almost non-existent to him, but she could not.′In