Literary discoveries often come about through luck — a chance find of a bundle of papers in an attic or an auction catalogue. Claudine Lesage made hers in the municipal library in Hyères, southern France, where she found an unpublished typescript describing a journey made by the American writer Edith Wharton.

Wharton is best known as the Pulitzer-winning author of novels such as The Age of Innocence and The House of Mirth, but she also wrote about her travels — In Morocco, an account of a journey made at the end of the first world war, has just been reissued (Tauris Parke Paperbacks £8.99). There was no account, however, of Wharton’s first venture into the Mediterranean, in 1888, when, at 26, Wharton, with her husband and some friends, sailed from Marseilles to Algiers, where they chartered a yacht.

Sailing through the Mediterranean spring, they visited Tunis and Malta, went on to Sicily and Corfu, cruised through the Cyclades to Rhodes, then back through the islands to Athens and on along the Dalmatian coast.

She clearly loved what she saw — she later called the cruise “a taste of heaven” — and conveyed that enthusiasm in her writing. She is stirred by the exoticism of North Africa, thrilled by the beauty of the Mediterranean landscapes and moved by some of the antiquities and artistic treasures in Sicily. “This Journal,” she wrote after visiting Monreale, Sicily, “is written to note as exactly as possible the impression which I myself received.” It succeeds, but does much more than that: as well as providing a beautiful portrait of the Mediterranean in one of its golden moments, it provides a glimpse of a writer finding her voice.

A-Z of Countries of the World by Peter Stalker (OUP £8.99)

Think you know the world? Perhaps you do, but probably not all of it, given that new countries are being created at an average rate of three a year. Where are they? And what is their condition? Peter Stalker has the answers: his A-Z of Countries of the World provides up-to-the-minute listings and concise analysis of each and every nation. And I mean every nation, many of which I didn’t know existed, including Palau, in the Pacific, which Stalker calls “probably the world’s most intensively governed country” — one-third of its workforce is employed by the government. And would you know where to find St Pierre on the map? Officially, it is part of France, but this little community of cod-fishers lives on a rock just off the coast of Newfoundland.

Apart from the thrill of discoveries such as these, Stalker’s book informs us about places we think we know. Judging by the crowds encountered every time I head into the English countryside, for example, I had assumed that plenty of us live a rural life. Not so: 89% of people in the UK live in towns and cities. That’s about the same proportion as in Germany, but more than in the US (80%).

The accompanying reports cover each country’s recent history and politics. The Gambia is billed as having a strong tourist industry, but a repressive government. Want to know why you should think twice before visiting Burma? The answer lies in its military junta, which lost the 1990 election to Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy, but has refused to hand over power. To be a responsible traveller, you need to be informed, and this A-Z provides you with the sort of key background information you need before travelling.

To buy The Cruise of the Vanadis and A-Z of Countries of the World for the reduced prices of £13.59 and £7.64 respectively, excluding p&p, or any travel guides, call The Sunday Times Books First on 0870 165 8585