n the winter of 1888, the young Edith Wharton announced, "I would give anything in the world to make a cruise of the Mediterranean." To her great surprise, her cousin-in-law, James Van Alen, replied, "You needn't do that if you'd let me charter a yacht and come with me." That is all the world knew of the writer's Grand Tour until a scholar found Wharton's diary of the journey, published in 2003 as The Cruise of the Vanadis. In this unprecedented literary travel event, you can join President Carol Christ on a re-creation of Wharton's voyage. The journey, aboard the elegant, 114-guest Corinthian II, is divided into two parts, with this year's half following Wharton's itinerary through Sicily and the Aegean. The next leg, in 2008, will cruise from Athens to Venice.
n the winter of 1888, the young Edith Wharton announced, "I would give anything in the world to make a cruise of the Mediterranean." To her great surprise, her cousin-in-law, James Van Alen, replied, "You needn't do that if you'd let me charter a yacht and come with me." That is all the world knew of the writer's Grand Tour until a scholar found Wharton's diary of the journey, published in 2003 as The Cruise of the Vanadis. In this unprecedented literary travel event, you can join President Carol Christ on a re-creation of Wharton's voyage. The journey, aboard the elegant, 114-guest Corinthian II, is divided into two parts, with this year's half following Wharton's itinerary through Sicily and the Aegean. The next leg, in 2008, will cruise from Athens to Venice.
