A travel-writing imprint offering “classic and rediscovered adventures”, all selected by Nick Hunt and with new introductions, will be launched next month by the publisher John Murray. The first five titles from “John Murray Journeys” will be:

The Valleys of the Assassins by Freya Stark, first published in 1934, which chronicles the author’s travels through Iran in the 1930s. It is introduced by Monisha Rajesh.

A Time of Gifts by Patrick Leigh Fermor, the first of a trilogy recounting the “great trudge” from the Hook of Holland to Istanbul that he embarked on in 1933 when he was 18. This edition includes an introduction by Jan Morris from 2005.

A Vagabond for Beauty, a collection of letters and diary excerpts by Everett Ruess, an artist who disappeared at the age of 20 in the canyonlands of Utah. Everett’s writing, compiled by W L Rusho, is published for the first time in the UK, and introduced by Paul Kingsnorth.

The Cruel Way by Ella K Maillart tells of a road trip she made from Switzerland to Afghanistan in 1939 with Annemarie Schwarzenbach, the two travelling partly to escape war in Europe and partly in an attempt to break Schwarzenbach’s addiction to morphine. This edition has an introduction by Fiona Mozley and includes excerpts from All The Roads Are Open by Schwarzenbach, recently reissued by Seagull Books.

Mississippi Solo by Eddy L Harris, which tells of a 1988 canoe journey in which the author battled against the power of the river and confronted modern racism and the legacy of slavery. Published for the first time in the UK, the book is introduced by Adam Weymouth.

All five titles will be published on July 8 in paperback.