A Scientific, Antiquarian, and Picturesque Tour: John Lee In
England, Wales and Ireland, 1806-7, is a critical edition of the
travel diaries and sketchbooks of Dr John Lee FRS (ne Fiott,
1783-1866), published for the first time. Shortly after graduating
from Cambridge University, Lee set out on a seven-month walking
tour through England, Wales, and Ireland on 31 July 1806. His
itinerary included most of the key sites on the 'home tour', such
as Llangollen, the Lakes of Killarney, and the Wicklow Mountains,
but also less- visited sites such as the Blasket Islands, Co.
Kerry. Best known later in life as an astronomer, antiquary,
Liberal campaigner for women's suffrage, and generous
philanthropist, Lee's lifelong interest in mineralogy, antiquities,
industry, and popular culture, and his concern for the poor, are
evident throughout these early diaries. Most of the content relates
to Ireland, where Lee arrived on 29 August 1806 and remained until
6 March 1807. His observations paint a picture of Irish social,
cultural, and political life in the aftermath of the 1798 and 1803
rebellions, and the 1801 Act of Union. The memory of 1798 looms
large in the diaries, as Lee recorded conversations with witnesses
and participants on both sides. These observations are laid against
the backdrop of Lee's assessments of the Irish landscape, evaluated
verbally and pictorially within the frameworks of the sublime and
picturesque. Lee also paid much attention to the physical remains
of Irish history (earthen forts, early-Christian religious sites)
and to the endurance of Gaelic culture (the Irish language, Gaelic
games, 'pattern' days) that made Ireland exotic to the English
visitor. The volume includes an annotated transcription of Lee's
five diaries and notes from his three sketchbooks, reproductions of
some of his sketches, and a critical introduction setting Lee's
diaries within their historical, cultural, and intellectual
contexts. It makes Lee's detailed observations available to
researchers for the first time, a valuable resource for Irish
social, cultural, and political history, local history, and the
histories of travel and antiquarianism.
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