Quicklet on The Travels of Marco Polo (CliffNotes-like Book Summary)

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ABOUT THE BOOK

The Travels of Marco Polo was written in the 13th century from the accounts of the explorer Marco Polo, as recorded by romance author Rustichello da Pisa while they were both political prisoners in Genoa.

Some scholars consider Rustichello da Pisa to be the proper author, and that he based the work on Marco Polos stories but told them in his own words. Other scholars think of the book as a collaboration between the two men, something jointly composed to while away the time in prison. Still others think that Marco Polo should be considered the author, and that he dictated the stories while Rustichello da Pisa acted more as a scribe than co-author.

The book is a travelogue, probably originally composed in Old French (though some scholars believe it was actually first written in Latin and then translated to Italian), in which Marco Polo visited Persia, China, Indonesia and other parts of Asia between the years 1271 and 1291. He claims to have become important in the court of the Mongol leader Kublai Khan where he served that dynasty for twenty years, but whether or not that is true, he was certainly a curious and observant traveller.

MEET THE AUTHOR

Nicole has been writing since she could make letters with a pencil, and has been making a living at it for more than ten years. She has gone back to school too many times, studying archaeology, folklore, writing and visual art. She writes fiction under several pen names, and also does printmaking, book arts, and photography. She's an avid amateur natural historian with a particular fascination for things that fly, whether it's birds, bats or insects. And if it's possible to be both a luddite, with a love for the low-tech, and a technophile, with a fascination for everything new and shiny, Nicole is both. She reads too many books, plays too many video games, and watches too much anime.

EXCERPT FROM THE BOOK

After his father and uncle returned to Venice, Marco Polo set off with them on a new journey though central Asia to China where he apparently became an important dignitary at the court of the Mongol leader Kublai Khan, who was at the time the founder and ruler of Chinas Yuan Dynasty.

Marco Polo remained in Kublai Khans court for two decades, before eventually returning to Europe, only to find that the Venice was at war with Genoa. Because of the tensions between the two cities, Marco Polo was taken as a political prisoner in Genoa, where he was imprisoned with a writer of romances, Rustichello da Pisa. To pass the time in prison, the two men worked on Marco Polos biography.

After he was released from captivity, Marco Polo returned to Venice where he continued to finance trading expeditions, though he did not himself go on another one.

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CHAPTER OUTLINE

Quicklet on The Travels of Marco Polo

+ About The Travels of Marco Polo

+ About Rustichello da Pisa

+ About Marco Polo

+ A Quick Summary of The Travels of Marco Polo

+ …and much more