The fashionable aristocratic European 'Grand Tour' of the 18th
century is the stuff of dreams, immortalized in writing of all
kinds; although it was to a large extent seen as the preserve of
men, an increasing number of women did brave Continental climes,
either among their husband's entourage or on tours of their own. A
key component of the experience was to write about it, and Dolan
uses extracts from the letters and other writing of eight women in
particular to chart their progress and motivation - often not only
enlightenment and adventure but also escape from the constraints of
society or an unhappy marriage, or to camouflaging an illicit
affair or pregnancy. 'Men and Monarchs,' Dolan says, 'wondered what
foreign society had to offer women that society at home did not.'
Although quite narrow in scope, and thematic rather than
chronological in structure (the same handful of women's stories
reappear, interwoven, under each theme), this is a fascinating
insight into the lives and attitudes of the time, and a
thought-provoking contrast to today. (Kirkus UK)
'An utterly absorbing account, brilliantly researched and written,
of women's lives and travels in the 18th-century.' Katie Hickman
According to 'The Art of Governing A Wife' (1747), women in
Georgian England were supposed to 'lay up and save, look to the
house; talk to few and take of all within'. However, some broke
from these taboos and took up the previously male privilege of
travelling to the Continent to develop mind, spirit and body.
Hearing of the delights of the Grand Tour from pioneering friends,
increasing numbers of English ladies set off to sample foreign
lands from which many returned apparently 'the best informed and
most perfect creatures'. For others the Grand Tour was an
intellectual and romantic rite of passage, widening their knowledge
of society, love and politics and inspiring a genre of literary
fiction all of its own. Brian Dolan leads us into the hearts and
minds of the ladies through the stories, thoughts and court gossip
recorded in their journals, letters and diaries.
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