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The Journeys of Celia Fiennes
'If you have not yet met the remarkable Celia, this book is the way to do it' -- Lloyds List
Celia Fiennes's lively account of her travels in England between 1685 and 1710 is a highly entertaining document of immense historical value. Often prim and censorious, her writing is engagingly eccentric in spelling and punctuation, and full of colour.
- GenresTravelNonfictionHistory
376 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1947
47 people want to read
About the author
Celia Fiennes
13 booksCelia Fiennes was an English travel writer. Born at Newton Tony, Wiltshire, she was the daughter of an English Civil War Parliamentarian colonel, who was in turn the second son of William Fiennes, 1st Viscount Saye and Sele. Celia Fiennes died in Hackney in 1741.
She travelled around England on horseback between 1684 and about 1703, "to regain my health by variety and change of aire and exercise" (Journeys). At this time the idea of travel for its own sake was still novel, and Fiennes was exceptional as an enthusiastic woman traveller. Sometimes she travelled with relatives, but she made her "Great Journey to Newcastle and Cornwall" of 1698 accompanied only by one or two servants. Her travels continued intermittently until at least 1712 and took her through most of England.
She had worked up her notes into a travel memoir in 1702, which she never published, intending it for family reading. It provides a vivid portrait of a still largely unenclosed countryside with few and primitive roads, although signposts ("posts and hands pointing to each road with the names of the great towns or market towns that it leads to") were appearing.
Robert Southey published extracts in 1812, and the first complete edition appeared in 1888 under the title Through England on a Side Saddle. A scholarly edition called The Journeys of Celia Fiennes was produced by Christopher Morris in 1947, and the book has been constantly in print in a variety of editions.
Fiennes was interested in anything new, in innovations, bustling towns, the newly fashionable spa towns such as Bath and Harrogate, and in commerce. Fiennes's patriotic justification for domestic tourism and her interest in the "production and manufactures of each place" anticipated the genre of 'economic tourism' which became formalised with Daniel Defoe's professional and survey-like A Tour through the Whole Island of Great Britain (1724–26). The economic tourist would become a staple of travel writing throughout the 18th and 19th centuries.
Fiennes saw many of the finest baroque English country houses while they were still under construction. Contrary to the widespread conception that the visiting of "stately homes" began after the Second World War, they have been accessible to travellers of good social standing since Fiennes' time if not earlier, and her comments are one of the most interesting contemporary sources of information about them. At Stonehenge she counted the exact number of stones, and at Harrogate visited "the sulphur or stinking spaw". She also clambered over the rocks at Land's End.
Her travels are the subject of a play, Riding England Sidesaddle by Christopher Goulding, which premiered at the People's Theatre, Newcastle upon Tyne in 1992, starring Andrea Riseborough as the young Celia Fiennes.
She travelled around England on horseback between 1684 and about 1703, "to regain my health by variety and change of aire and exercise" (Journeys). At this time the idea of travel for its own sake was still novel, and Fiennes was exceptional as an enthusiastic woman traveller. Sometimes she travelled with relatives, but she made her "Great Journey to Newcastle and Cornwall" of 1698 accompanied only by one or two servants. Her travels continued intermittently until at least 1712 and took her through most of England.
She had worked up her notes into a travel memoir in 1702, which she never published, intending it for family reading. It provides a vivid portrait of a still largely unenclosed countryside with few and primitive roads, although signposts ("posts and hands pointing to each road with the names of the great towns or market towns that it leads to") were appearing.
Robert Southey published extracts in 1812, and the first complete edition appeared in 1888 under the title Through England on a Side Saddle. A scholarly edition called The Journeys of Celia Fiennes was produced by Christopher Morris in 1947, and the book has been constantly in print in a variety of editions.
Fiennes was interested in anything new, in innovations, bustling towns, the newly fashionable spa towns such as Bath and Harrogate, and in commerce. Fiennes's patriotic justification for domestic tourism and her interest in the "production and manufactures of each place" anticipated the genre of 'economic tourism' which became formalised with Daniel Defoe's professional and survey-like A Tour through the Whole Island of Great Britain (1724–26). The economic tourist would become a staple of travel writing throughout the 18th and 19th centuries.
Fiennes saw many of the finest baroque English country houses while they were still under construction. Contrary to the widespread conception that the visiting of "stately homes" began after the Second World War, they have been accessible to travellers of good social standing since Fiennes' time if not earlier, and her comments are one of the most interesting contemporary sources of information about them. At Stonehenge she counted the exact number of stones, and at Harrogate visited "the sulphur or stinking spaw". She also clambered over the rocks at Land's End.
Her travels are the subject of a play, Riding England Sidesaddle by Christopher Goulding, which premiered at the People's Theatre, Newcastle upon Tyne in 1992, starring Andrea Riseborough as the young Celia Fiennes.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
July 24, 2016
Celia Fiennes diaries of her travels are harder to read than Defoe's 'Tour' because of her breathless style and eccentric grammar. They only survived by chance and have been sympathetically edited in this version. What makes them interesting is her sharp eye for detail. She travelled at least in part for the fun of it in defiance of poor roads and discomfort and she recorded the things that took her fancy in a lively, disorganised way. You have to get into the spirit of the writer to enjoy this book but once you have it is very rewarding. You get a glimpse of what the country looked like and how it felt to travel in the latter part of the 17th century. The illustrations are a vital part of the book and well chosen; it is fun to compare them with the text.
July 9, 2021
Fascinating account by a lady who travels through Britain by coach or on horseback, well before Daniel Defoe wrote "A tour thro' the whole island of Great Britain".
Though at times repetitive, Celia Fiennes is quite an interesting travel-journalist. She reports on crops, mining, industries, interesting buildings and sights, staying at inns versus staying with wealthy relatives, various spas and taking the waters, trying her hand at glass-blowing, attending various religious services and much more.
At times quite hilarious, like when she describes a painting of Venus at a stately home as quite good were it not for a lack of clothes.
Shows that women could be way more intrepid than most folks want us to believe. Wouldn't mind taking one of her routes on horse-back, if it weren't for modern traffic and the way places have changed.
Though at times repetitive, Celia Fiennes is quite an interesting travel-journalist. She reports on crops, mining, industries, interesting buildings and sights, staying at inns versus staying with wealthy relatives, various spas and taking the waters, trying her hand at glass-blowing, attending various religious services and much more.
At times quite hilarious, like when she describes a painting of Venus at a stately home as quite good were it not for a lack of clothes.
Shows that women could be way more intrepid than most folks want us to believe. Wouldn't mind taking one of her routes on horse-back, if it weren't for modern traffic and the way places have changed.
November 13, 2022
Celia Fiennes made many journeys on horseback throughout England in the late 17th and early 18th century. She was an enthusiastic traveller who wrote in great detail about all the places she visited . The book is full of fascinating descriptions of places and the activities of people, such as how salt was extracted from the sea at Lynmouth, or paper making in Canterbury. I would have loved to travel with Celia, she clearly enjoyed herself very much and was interested in everything.
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December 27, 2012Fiennes, Celia, 1662-1741
Abridged version, refers to an unabridged version from Cresset Press.
Abridged version, refers to an unabridged version from Cresset Press.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews