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The British Abroad: The Grand Tour in the Eighteenth Century
Travel for pleasure developed greatly in the 18th century, and here Jeremy Black examines travel on the Continent, the so-called 'Grand Tour'.
412 pages, Paperback
First published July 1, 1992
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About the author
Jeremy Black
431 books198 followersJeremy Black is an English historian, who was formerly a professor of history at the University of Exeter. He is a senior fellow at the Center for the Study of America and the West at the Foreign Policy Research Institute in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, US.
Black is the author of over 180 books, principally but not exclusively on 18th-century British politics and international relations, and has been described by one commentator as "the most prolific historical scholar of our age". He has published on military and political history, including Warfare in the Western World, 1882–1975 (2001) and The World in the Twentieth Century (2002).
Black is the author of over 180 books, principally but not exclusively on 18th-century British politics and international relations, and has been described by one commentator as "the most prolific historical scholar of our age". He has published on military and political history, including Warfare in the Western World, 1882–1975 (2001) and The World in the Twentieth Century (2002).
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
April 18, 2021
The Grand Tour was the Gap Year of its day, only instead of tripping balls at a full moon party in Goa, you went to Paris and Italy and tried to imbibe an appreciation for the great art of the past.
It was on a very different scale from the tourism we know from today. ‘I have hardly had one hour to myself this week,’ complained the British envoy in Florence in 1725, ‘by reason of the concourse of English gentlemen that are here at present, of whom there have been above twenty.’ Twenty! Jesus. There must have been a hundred times that many in Florence at the height of lockdown.
Still, at the time, it was felt to have a huge impact on European cities, where the beginnings of a tourist industry began to spring up – especially in Rome, which was full of antiquities plundered from Italian dig sites. Many of these ended up in English country houses, and the scale of this could be impressive: Richard, 3rd Earl of Burlington, returned to England with 878 trunks, crates and other baggage after his tour in 1715. Remember this next time you're worried you've bought too many souvenirs.
Of course, there were lots of bad things you could bring back from a trip to Europe, too – like venereal disease, or Catholicism. Many young men saw it as a chance to sow their wild oats, and were less interested in the Venus de Medici than the chance to get hammered at the nearest taverna. Their parents and guardians didn't necessarily see this as a bad thing. ‘Those are the best of our countrymen who are not much altered by their continental peregrinations,’ one thought; while Sarah Marlborough wrote that the best reason for her sons to go abroad was ‘to make them see that nothing is so agreeable as England’. The net result, Black concludes cynically, is that despite travelling to expand their minds, ‘many returned to Britain as better-informed xenophobes’.
There aren't many books out there about the Grand Tour, so this is a welcome study. However, Black doesn't always manage (or even really try) to convert his information into a proper narrative, and often it comes across as a bit of a laundry-list of datapoints. During the chapter on health, for instance:
I got too bored to type any more, but you get the idea. The result is that this needs to be read strategically, focusing on the parts you need most. There is a lot of great information in here waiting to be unpacked, much of it hard to find anywhere else.
Like so much else, the Grand Tour was brought to an abrupt end by the French Revolution in 1789, which temporarily severed Britain's connection to Calais and the world beyond. With the coming of Napoleon's empire, the world of Settecento Rome was no more, its treasures redistributed among the museums of Paris. By the time ‘tourism’ got going again, worldviews and motivations were different, and things started to look more and more like the world we know now. You know, except for the pandemic.
It was on a very different scale from the tourism we know from today. ‘I have hardly had one hour to myself this week,’ complained the British envoy in Florence in 1725, ‘by reason of the concourse of English gentlemen that are here at present, of whom there have been above twenty.’ Twenty! Jesus. There must have been a hundred times that many in Florence at the height of lockdown.
Still, at the time, it was felt to have a huge impact on European cities, where the beginnings of a tourist industry began to spring up – especially in Rome, which was full of antiquities plundered from Italian dig sites. Many of these ended up in English country houses, and the scale of this could be impressive: Richard, 3rd Earl of Burlington, returned to England with 878 trunks, crates and other baggage after his tour in 1715. Remember this next time you're worried you've bought too many souvenirs.
Of course, there were lots of bad things you could bring back from a trip to Europe, too – like venereal disease, or Catholicism. Many young men saw it as a chance to sow their wild oats, and were less interested in the Venus de Medici than the chance to get hammered at the nearest taverna. Their parents and guardians didn't necessarily see this as a bad thing. ‘Those are the best of our countrymen who are not much altered by their continental peregrinations,’ one thought; while Sarah Marlborough wrote that the best reason for her sons to go abroad was ‘to make them see that nothing is so agreeable as England’. The net result, Black concludes cynically, is that despite travelling to expand their minds, ‘many returned to Britain as better-informed xenophobes’.
There aren't many books out there about the Grand Tour, so this is a welcome study. However, Black doesn't always manage (or even really try) to convert his information into a proper narrative, and often it comes across as a bit of a laundry-list of datapoints. During the chapter on health, for instance:
…His brother, William Keppel (1727–82) went to Lisbon for his health in 1755. Lord Cornbury went abroad in 1748 to seek a better climate for the recovery of his health; the Graftons travelled for the Duchess's health in 1761; Lord and Lady Fife went to Spa in 1765 for Lady Fife's health. Patrick Moran died on the way to Lisbon in 1769; and William Montagu MP died in Lisbon itself in 1775; both had gone for their health. John Armstrong went to the Mediterranean for his health in the early 1770s; and the Gloucesters were there in 1771 for the health of the Duchess. William Dowdeswell was ordered abroad in 1774…
I got too bored to type any more, but you get the idea. The result is that this needs to be read strategically, focusing on the parts you need most. There is a lot of great information in here waiting to be unpacked, much of it hard to find anywhere else.
Like so much else, the Grand Tour was brought to an abrupt end by the French Revolution in 1789, which temporarily severed Britain's connection to Calais and the world beyond. With the coming of Napoleon's empire, the world of Settecento Rome was no more, its treasures redistributed among the museums of Paris. By the time ‘tourism’ got going again, worldviews and motivations were different, and things started to look more and more like the world we know now. You know, except for the pandemic.
May 1, 2023
In the late 17th century, members of the English upper class began a practice that came to be known as the “Grand Tour.” Primarily an activity undertaken by young men once they came of age, it was an extended trip to various destinations on the European continent, often in the company of a tutor or guide, that was intended to give them an opportunity to burnish their educations and socialize with their counterparts in other countries. As Jeremy Black explains in his account of the heyday of such travel, the Grand Tour “fulfilled a major social need, namely the necessity for finding for young men, who were not obliged to work and for whom work would often be a derogation, something to do between school and settling into matrimony.”
The nature of travel at that time meant that these tours usually involved spending months or even years abroad. What these men (and the occasional woman) experienced in their voyages varied considerably depending on the interests of their travelers and the itineraries they charted for themselves. This makes recounting the history of these journeys a challenge, yet it is one that Black rises to effectively with a detailed breakdown of the key components involved. As he explains, the typical destination was either France or Italy, with the latter usually involving stops in Paris and other key French cities along the way. Yet others ventured to Lisbon, the Low Countries, or the German states, with a few hardy souls even going as far afield as Russia and the European territories of the Ottoman empire.
Black’s description of their activities and experiences comprises the bulk of his book. For those traveling to Italy in particular, the main attractions were the ancient ruins that dotted the peninsula, which gave them the opportunity to visit the locations described in the classically-centered educations they had experienced. As the century wore on, however, outdoor recreation grew in popularity, as many travelers headed to destinations renowned for their natural beauty. These trips were usually supplemented by visits to courts and attendance at musical performances and other cultural activities, which served as entrée into the local societies with which visitors mingled.
Such travel was not cheap, making the Grand Tour a privilege limited to the monied elite. Yet one of the most striking aspects of it was the onerousness of these trips. While the tradition as well established by the early 18th century, outside of a few well-traveled routes journeys were difficult and accommodations few. This contributed to the preference for France and Italy as destinations, where roads were relatively developed and inns and hotels numerous enough to ease the demands of travel. By contrast, those venturing to parts of Europe less frequently visited by outsiders found the roads poor and housing for travelers virtually nonexistent. While this changed in some places as the century wore on, visiting such destinations as the Balkans required both an adventurous spirit and a willingness to “rough it” in uncertain circumstances.
And yet for all of the differences between the tours that Black describes and the more modern vacations which his readers might undertake, there is much within it that is familiar to their counterparts today. Though overland travel was limited to carriages, most of the passengers were more interested in the destination than the journey, as what now might be terms “flyover country” was regarded back then by travelers as “fly-through” country. Delays that left them stranded led to much frustrated grumbling about the unhelpful sailors and drivers that they had hired to transport them. Hotels and inns were as plagued with poor facilities and vermin-infested mattresses as they are today, while people enjoying foreign locales often ran the risk of consuming unpalatable food and becoming the victims of pickpockets and other petty criminals.
Such details help to make Black’s book enjoyable reading, as does his generous use of paintings in the text that are nicely evocative of the era. While his choice to organize the material by topic can disrupt any sense of the narrative, it makes the book a great resource for anyone wanting to focus on specific aspects of the travel experience. Where it falls short, unfortunately, is in connecting these details to the broader social and cultural developments taking place in Europe during this time. This is especially unfortunate considering that most of this book is just a warmed-over version of Black’s earlier work British and the Grand Tour, with little of substance added. In this sense the absence of an attempt to expand on his observations by showing how they reflected contemporary trends in Western thought is particularly unfortunate, as it limits unnecessarily what is otherwise an extremely useful study of an interesting topic, one that provides a fascinating perspective on how Hanoverian Britain interacted with their fellow Europeans.
The nature of travel at that time meant that these tours usually involved spending months or even years abroad. What these men (and the occasional woman) experienced in their voyages varied considerably depending on the interests of their travelers and the itineraries they charted for themselves. This makes recounting the history of these journeys a challenge, yet it is one that Black rises to effectively with a detailed breakdown of the key components involved. As he explains, the typical destination was either France or Italy, with the latter usually involving stops in Paris and other key French cities along the way. Yet others ventured to Lisbon, the Low Countries, or the German states, with a few hardy souls even going as far afield as Russia and the European territories of the Ottoman empire.
Black’s description of their activities and experiences comprises the bulk of his book. For those traveling to Italy in particular, the main attractions were the ancient ruins that dotted the peninsula, which gave them the opportunity to visit the locations described in the classically-centered educations they had experienced. As the century wore on, however, outdoor recreation grew in popularity, as many travelers headed to destinations renowned for their natural beauty. These trips were usually supplemented by visits to courts and attendance at musical performances and other cultural activities, which served as entrée into the local societies with which visitors mingled.
Such travel was not cheap, making the Grand Tour a privilege limited to the monied elite. Yet one of the most striking aspects of it was the onerousness of these trips. While the tradition as well established by the early 18th century, outside of a few well-traveled routes journeys were difficult and accommodations few. This contributed to the preference for France and Italy as destinations, where roads were relatively developed and inns and hotels numerous enough to ease the demands of travel. By contrast, those venturing to parts of Europe less frequently visited by outsiders found the roads poor and housing for travelers virtually nonexistent. While this changed in some places as the century wore on, visiting such destinations as the Balkans required both an adventurous spirit and a willingness to “rough it” in uncertain circumstances.
And yet for all of the differences between the tours that Black describes and the more modern vacations which his readers might undertake, there is much within it that is familiar to their counterparts today. Though overland travel was limited to carriages, most of the passengers were more interested in the destination than the journey, as what now might be terms “flyover country” was regarded back then by travelers as “fly-through” country. Delays that left them stranded led to much frustrated grumbling about the unhelpful sailors and drivers that they had hired to transport them. Hotels and inns were as plagued with poor facilities and vermin-infested mattresses as they are today, while people enjoying foreign locales often ran the risk of consuming unpalatable food and becoming the victims of pickpockets and other petty criminals.
Such details help to make Black’s book enjoyable reading, as does his generous use of paintings in the text that are nicely evocative of the era. While his choice to organize the material by topic can disrupt any sense of the narrative, it makes the book a great resource for anyone wanting to focus on specific aspects of the travel experience. Where it falls short, unfortunately, is in connecting these details to the broader social and cultural developments taking place in Europe during this time. This is especially unfortunate considering that most of this book is just a warmed-over version of Black’s earlier work British and the Grand Tour, with little of substance added. In this sense the absence of an attempt to expand on his observations by showing how they reflected contemporary trends in Western thought is particularly unfortunate, as it limits unnecessarily what is otherwise an extremely useful study of an interesting topic, one that provides a fascinating perspective on how Hanoverian Britain interacted with their fellow Europeans.
December 24, 2014
A bit too much detail for me. He covered (the chapter titles): "Numbers" (how many traveled), "Routes and Destinations," "Cost and Finance," "Transport," "Accommodation," "Food and Drink," "War, Disputes, Accidents and Crime," "Health and Death," "Love, Sex, Gambling and Drinking," "Social and Political Reflections," "Religion," "The Arts," and finally, "The Debate Over the Grand Tour." He certainly did his research but I felt buried in examples at times. I was particularly interested in the section on the arts--how many got cheated with fakes, the phoney "culture" some people put on that we all recognize throughout our own history, etc. I also liked some of the discussion on religion and how Brits felt confronted with differing forms of Protestantism and even more so with the "evil" (for some) of Catholicism.
October 23, 2011
I've read parts of this book off and on for a while and finally finished it.
This is a book I own and I'm very glad of it--if you have any interest in what it was like to travel through Europe in the late 18th century, this is a great book to reference. Lots of very interesting facts and insights. Also excellent for anyone planning to write historical fiction in this era where any traveling on the Continent is done (HELLO TO TOO MANY HISTORICAL FICTION WRITERS. PLEASE PAY ATTENTION TO THIS ADVICE).
I happen to be extremely interested in The Grand Tour. Maybe the idea of all that travel. Plus, you could totally steal stuff and bring it back home, which is frowned upon these days. And this is, as far as I can tell, the book about the The Grand Tour.
I will admit, though, this book is not for the general reader. I like the organization (chapter on food, chapter on transport, etc). But the writing didn't exactly flow beautifully. It could get pretty choppy and there was too much of interesting fact followed by X did this, Y did that, Z did that and then finally another interesting fact. Some of the anecdotes from the sources were really amusing or insightful, but I didn't feel like it was necessary for every fact to be illustrated by a half dozen instances of the fact affecting an individual's travels (i.e., Housing could be very expensive, especially if prices weren't agreed to in advance. Lord So-and-So complained about how much a room cost in Germany. Lady Such-and-Such said that the landlord was a cheat when she stayed in Italy, etc.).
This is a book I own and I'm very glad of it--if you have any interest in what it was like to travel through Europe in the late 18th century, this is a great book to reference. Lots of very interesting facts and insights. Also excellent for anyone planning to write historical fiction in this era where any traveling on the Continent is done (HELLO TO TOO MANY HISTORICAL FICTION WRITERS. PLEASE PAY ATTENTION TO THIS ADVICE).
I happen to be extremely interested in The Grand Tour. Maybe the idea of all that travel. Plus, you could totally steal stuff and bring it back home, which is frowned upon these days. And this is, as far as I can tell, the book about the The Grand Tour.
I will admit, though, this book is not for the general reader. I like the organization (chapter on food, chapter on transport, etc). But the writing didn't exactly flow beautifully. It could get pretty choppy and there was too much of interesting fact followed by X did this, Y did that, Z did that and then finally another interesting fact. Some of the anecdotes from the sources were really amusing or insightful, but I didn't feel like it was necessary for every fact to be illustrated by a half dozen instances of the fact affecting an individual's travels (i.e., Housing could be very expensive, especially if prices weren't agreed to in advance. Lord So-and-So complained about how much a room cost in Germany. Lady Such-and-Such said that the landlord was a cheat when she stayed in Italy, etc.).
October 29, 2025
Sun, sea, sand, is this what makes the perfect holiday? Not in the 18th century. Instead it was about culture, expanding your horizons, seeing the wider world. That was the billing for the parents at any rate. But the young aristocrats, for that is who the tourists mostly were, ‘The Grand Tour’ of the title of Jeremy Black’s book, was as much about the seedier pleasure seeking side; food, gambling, and sex. The subtitle ‘The British Abroad’ is still a subject of fascination today. And it was perhaps even more so in the 18th century when the British, compared to their European compatriots, were unusually prone to engaging in tourism. Jeremy Black gives us a detailed look at the grand tour as the British made their way to all corners of Europe and engaged in all manner of activities.
Pros
Wide ranging
Fascinating look at an area with lots of modern parallels
Detailed
Cons
Not always the easiest read
A bit repetitive
Difficulties with comparisons
As Black explains, the Grand Tour was not a set itinerary or package holiday. Every tour varied. And so this is a wide ranging book. The chapter titles give an idea of the scope: Numbers (how many and who went); Routes and Destinations; Cost and Finance; Transport; Accommodation; Food and Drink; War, Disputes, Accidents and Crime; Health and Death; Love, Sex, Gambling and Drinking; Social and Political Reflections; Religion; The Arts (including music, painting, and architecture); and The Debate Over the Grand Tour. Broad but also rather jumping around. Within each chapter we get examples from all over the place geographically and in terms of subject e.g. the little subchapter on architecture covers views on all sorts of architecture; styles from Roman/classical; more modern baroque; gothic and uses; domestic; public; and religious.
We live today in a period of mass tourism. Traveling across the world is easy. And taking a holiday abroad is the norm. None of this has been historically the case. The 18th century is perhaps the first time foreign travel, for pleasure (so excluding pilgrimages and trade), became normal. Albeit only for a very narrow class. As us Brits love jetting off to the continent (though it is now Spain rather than Italy that is the big draw) this provides a fascinating starting point for a book. We all have nightmare holiday tales. Travel chaos in airports regularly hits the front pages. And travel literature is popular. It was the same back in the 18th century… only much worse! Rather than convenient air and rail travel you are at the mercy of the tides and winds. And once you get to the continent the roads are just dirt. Your coach will probably break an axle. On the plus side if you are making a grand tour you are wealthy, and your tour won't be anything like a quick jaunt but will be a full blown expedition lasting months, or even years!
This is a bit like those if you were a time traveller arriving in a certain time/place books, what would you do, how would you go about surviving? But instead here the issue is what was tourism like, how would the transport be? It is not quite the same as the perspective is not taking that of the modern but rather using the words of those at the time about their experiences. This creates difficulties for the modern reader as we dont have the same mental map for comparisons; those quoted are comparing to England of their own time. Black gives figures and prices for lots of things, which doesn’t help when exchange rates are not given. So we end up going with what black, or those he is quoting tells us in terms of whether it is expensive or not, good or bad, and being a thorough researcher Black often also points to an example of someone saying the opposite. Some things remain the same across the centuries; opinions differ!
A book about leisure and fun should be a pleasure and joy to read. Unfortunately the way Black constructs the book makes it a bit hit and miss. When stating what lots of different people did the writing can be a bit tediously list like. The real meat is what those making the grand tour say. Black often lets them in their own words. Some of the block quotes are immense - running for more than a page. This is both great; it gives the unvarnished opinions of our grand tourists - which can sometimes be quite funny, and bad; their writing and 18th century language makes for varying ease of comprehension.
One of the puff quotes on the back cover notes “It is painstakingly compiled, fascinatingly written and full of detail”. I agree. Indeed if anything it is too painstakingly compiled. How many examples of bad roads do you need? It can get a bit repetitive. I feel the reader would have gotten the same out of it with slightly less and the result would have been a lighter, easier, read which would probably have been an improvement.
Could you pick this book up and enjoy it even if you have no knowledge of 18th century Britain? Yes… possibly. The difference between travel and tourism then and now might provide enough to work with even if unfamiliar with the century. Otherwise however Black is not always very good at providing the context and clearly assumes the reader will have some knowledge of the situation the 18th century British tourists are coming from - there is a lack of comparative information on the situation in Britain which is odd. And there are definitely things that are mentioned that are not explained, for example Jansenism. But such things can be ignored without too much loss of understanding.
So perhaps not a book for easy holiday reading for pleasure. But an interesting look at a slice of history on a subject we (almost) all (in the developed world) engage in today.
Pros
Wide ranging
Fascinating look at an area with lots of modern parallels
Detailed
Cons
Not always the easiest read
A bit repetitive
Difficulties with comparisons
As Black explains, the Grand Tour was not a set itinerary or package holiday. Every tour varied. And so this is a wide ranging book. The chapter titles give an idea of the scope: Numbers (how many and who went); Routes and Destinations; Cost and Finance; Transport; Accommodation; Food and Drink; War, Disputes, Accidents and Crime; Health and Death; Love, Sex, Gambling and Drinking; Social and Political Reflections; Religion; The Arts (including music, painting, and architecture); and The Debate Over the Grand Tour. Broad but also rather jumping around. Within each chapter we get examples from all over the place geographically and in terms of subject e.g. the little subchapter on architecture covers views on all sorts of architecture; styles from Roman/classical; more modern baroque; gothic and uses; domestic; public; and religious.
We live today in a period of mass tourism. Traveling across the world is easy. And taking a holiday abroad is the norm. None of this has been historically the case. The 18th century is perhaps the first time foreign travel, for pleasure (so excluding pilgrimages and trade), became normal. Albeit only for a very narrow class. As us Brits love jetting off to the continent (though it is now Spain rather than Italy that is the big draw) this provides a fascinating starting point for a book. We all have nightmare holiday tales. Travel chaos in airports regularly hits the front pages. And travel literature is popular. It was the same back in the 18th century… only much worse! Rather than convenient air and rail travel you are at the mercy of the tides and winds. And once you get to the continent the roads are just dirt. Your coach will probably break an axle. On the plus side if you are making a grand tour you are wealthy, and your tour won't be anything like a quick jaunt but will be a full blown expedition lasting months, or even years!
This is a bit like those if you were a time traveller arriving in a certain time/place books, what would you do, how would you go about surviving? But instead here the issue is what was tourism like, how would the transport be? It is not quite the same as the perspective is not taking that of the modern but rather using the words of those at the time about their experiences. This creates difficulties for the modern reader as we dont have the same mental map for comparisons; those quoted are comparing to England of their own time. Black gives figures and prices for lots of things, which doesn’t help when exchange rates are not given. So we end up going with what black, or those he is quoting tells us in terms of whether it is expensive or not, good or bad, and being a thorough researcher Black often also points to an example of someone saying the opposite. Some things remain the same across the centuries; opinions differ!
A book about leisure and fun should be a pleasure and joy to read. Unfortunately the way Black constructs the book makes it a bit hit and miss. When stating what lots of different people did the writing can be a bit tediously list like. The real meat is what those making the grand tour say. Black often lets them in their own words. Some of the block quotes are immense - running for more than a page. This is both great; it gives the unvarnished opinions of our grand tourists - which can sometimes be quite funny, and bad; their writing and 18th century language makes for varying ease of comprehension.
One of the puff quotes on the back cover notes “It is painstakingly compiled, fascinatingly written and full of detail”. I agree. Indeed if anything it is too painstakingly compiled. How many examples of bad roads do you need? It can get a bit repetitive. I feel the reader would have gotten the same out of it with slightly less and the result would have been a lighter, easier, read which would probably have been an improvement.
Could you pick this book up and enjoy it even if you have no knowledge of 18th century Britain? Yes… possibly. The difference between travel and tourism then and now might provide enough to work with even if unfamiliar with the century. Otherwise however Black is not always very good at providing the context and clearly assumes the reader will have some knowledge of the situation the 18th century British tourists are coming from - there is a lack of comparative information on the situation in Britain which is odd. And there are definitely things that are mentioned that are not explained, for example Jansenism. But such things can be ignored without too much loss of understanding.
So perhaps not a book for easy holiday reading for pleasure. But an interesting look at a slice of history on a subject we (almost) all (in the developed world) engage in today.
November 30, 2025
This account of, effectively, tourism in the 18th century could have been a fascinating read. An era when the English nobility - almost everyone mentioned here is a Lord or a Sir or an Earl or an MP; indeed, often more than one of those - crossed the channel and toured onwards, not just on the classic Grant Tour of France and Italy, but to the Balkans and Germany, to Poland and Scandinavia and even to Spain, though of an acquaintance's trip to Spain, Viscount Townshend said he "could not well conceive what curiosity should lead his Grace so much out of the usual road of travellers"; Spain was "not regarded as the most interesting country to visit."
This was an era when a sailing from Weymouth to Cherbourg could easily take 30 hours (it's less than 4 today), when sea-sickness was a huge problem, and when even boarding ship was difficult - you were often expected to jump your horse onboard from the pier, though in France they at least had ramps to lead your horse ashore. The cultural differences in Europe were unimaginable today even in Calais, a tourist could remark that:
Further afield, the adventurous traveller John Jervis (later First Lord of the Admiralty) was shocked by the public baths in St Petersburg - they "represented such a monstrous scene of beastly women and indecent men mixed together naked as our first parents without the least appearance of shame as to shock our feelings."
Travel was dangerous. Your carriage overturning by hitting a rut in what could only kindly be called a road was a constant threat, but others were more interesting. Horace Walpole lost his dog to wolves. The Earl of Radnor was advised to moor in the middle of the river on a trip from Buda (not Budapest) to Belgrade to avoid bandits - when his travelling companion shot a waterman dead, mistaking him for a brigand, there was a two-day delay "while the matter was adjusted". (On reaching Belgrade, he was so tired he spent the next five days in bed.) William Lord Kilmaurs, the deaf heir of the 13th Lord of Glencairn, was involved in a duel in Marseilles in 1765 because he was talking too loudly in the theatre. Lieutenant Colonel George Carpenter travelled from Ghent to Brussels in 1717, passing on the road "a vast number of wheels and gallows, and few without two or three carcasses at the least hanging on them" - these for torturing and then killing thieves. Philip Francis had to lance a swelling in his own throat with a pen-knife, "and found great relief".
The number of tourists were unimaginable. "I have hardly had one hour to myself this week by reason of the concourse of British gentlemen that are here at present, of whom there have been above twenty", complained the British envoy to Florence in 1725. Overtourism was far from the curse it is to today's Florence. But the envoy had a point - he was expected to entertain all these tourists, as well as arrange guides to show them around. Music and art were the main areas of interest, though the newly-discovered ruins of Pompeii generated interest, as did the active Mount Vesuvius. Lord William Mandeville walked near Vesuvius, testing the depth of the ash with his sword. A bishop of Derry was hit on the head with a stone from an eruption.
Travel drew mixed reaction at home. Some were criticised for its frivolity and for taking valuable currency out of the country - a problem exacerbated by the inevitable price increases levied on foreigners; they were, after all, known to be well-off and it was hard for them to work out what the correct price was in foreign lands. "It is a general complaint that the English do not mix with the people of the country they are in" is another complaint - the commentor adding that this was no bad thing in the case of the Italians, dismissed as ignorant chancers. Having gone abroad once, most, although by no means all, of the travellers never crossed the Channel again - though their trips usually lasted months, often years, and the hardships were notable.
And all of this could have been a fascinating read, but in the hands of Black it turns into a slight bit of a slog at times. Too often the text turns into lists of people who we don't know and how they impacted a specific topic. So for example
This is the background reading that should inform the story as told by the author instead of being dumped en masse into the text - you can't help but think what the likes of Bill Bryson would have made of this topic.
But while that is a criticism, it isn't enough to destroy a genuinely interesting topic, and there are gems here, even if you have to work a bit harder than expected to get to them. The best story of the lot, from 1726, deserves retelling in full -
This was an era when a sailing from Weymouth to Cherbourg could easily take 30 hours (it's less than 4 today), when sea-sickness was a huge problem, and when even boarding ship was difficult - you were often expected to jump your horse onboard from the pier, though in France they at least had ramps to lead your horse ashore. The cultural differences in Europe were unimaginable today even in Calais, a tourist could remark that:
"The moment we disembarked on the pier head in Calais, we seemed to be in a New World - nothing could be greater than the contrast between the English and the French shores. And we looked back in amazement at Dover Castle, scarcely capable of persuading ourselves that England could really be at so small a distance. [...] The carriages, carts, horses and even dogs were different, so that the scene altogether was particularly striking."
Further afield, the adventurous traveller John Jervis (later First Lord of the Admiralty) was shocked by the public baths in St Petersburg - they "represented such a monstrous scene of beastly women and indecent men mixed together naked as our first parents without the least appearance of shame as to shock our feelings."
Travel was dangerous. Your carriage overturning by hitting a rut in what could only kindly be called a road was a constant threat, but others were more interesting. Horace Walpole lost his dog to wolves. The Earl of Radnor was advised to moor in the middle of the river on a trip from Buda (not Budapest) to Belgrade to avoid bandits - when his travelling companion shot a waterman dead, mistaking him for a brigand, there was a two-day delay "while the matter was adjusted". (On reaching Belgrade, he was so tired he spent the next five days in bed.) William Lord Kilmaurs, the deaf heir of the 13th Lord of Glencairn, was involved in a duel in Marseilles in 1765 because he was talking too loudly in the theatre. Lieutenant Colonel George Carpenter travelled from Ghent to Brussels in 1717, passing on the road "a vast number of wheels and gallows, and few without two or three carcasses at the least hanging on them" - these for torturing and then killing thieves. Philip Francis had to lance a swelling in his own throat with a pen-knife, "and found great relief".
The number of tourists were unimaginable. "I have hardly had one hour to myself this week by reason of the concourse of British gentlemen that are here at present, of whom there have been above twenty", complained the British envoy to Florence in 1725. Overtourism was far from the curse it is to today's Florence. But the envoy had a point - he was expected to entertain all these tourists, as well as arrange guides to show them around. Music and art were the main areas of interest, though the newly-discovered ruins of Pompeii generated interest, as did the active Mount Vesuvius. Lord William Mandeville walked near Vesuvius, testing the depth of the ash with his sword. A bishop of Derry was hit on the head with a stone from an eruption.
Travel drew mixed reaction at home. Some were criticised for its frivolity and for taking valuable currency out of the country - a problem exacerbated by the inevitable price increases levied on foreigners; they were, after all, known to be well-off and it was hard for them to work out what the correct price was in foreign lands. "It is a general complaint that the English do not mix with the people of the country they are in" is another complaint - the commentor adding that this was no bad thing in the case of the Italians, dismissed as ignorant chancers. Having gone abroad once, most, although by no means all, of the travellers never crossed the Channel again - though their trips usually lasted months, often years, and the hardships were notable.
And all of this could have been a fascinating read, but in the hands of Black it turns into a slight bit of a slog at times. Too often the text turns into lists of people who we don't know and how they impacted a specific topic. So for example
His brother, William Keppel (1727–82) went to Lisbon for his health in 1755. Lord Cornbury went abroad in 1748 to seek a better climate for the recovery of his health; the Graftons travelled for the Duchess's health in 1761; Lord and Lady Fife went to Spa in 1765 for Lady Fife's health. Patrick Moran died on the way to Lisbon in 1769; and William Montagu MP died in Lisbon itself in 1775; both had gone for their health. John Armstrong went to the Mediterranean for his health in the early 1770s; and the Gloucesters were there in 1771 for the health of the Duchess. William Dowdeswell was ordered abroad in 1774
This is the background reading that should inform the story as told by the author instead of being dumped en masse into the text - you can't help but think what the likes of Bill Bryson would have made of this topic.
But while that is a criticism, it isn't enough to destroy a genuinely interesting topic, and there are gems here, even if you have to work a bit harder than expected to get to them. The best story of the lot, from 1726, deserves retelling in full -
Two Scots gentlemen were travelling in one of these places [Italy or Spain] where Popery is in very great bigotry; and when they were coming to a famous church, the one of them would lay a wager with the other that he would ease nature on the steps of the altar, in a publick meeting, [when] some extraordinary relict or the hosty was exhibited. The other diswaded him but he insisted on it; and said he would venture, and the other should see his excrements should be honoured as relicts, and the effect of a miracle. He prepared himself by taking somewhat laxative, and came in on a solemn day, thrumbled in to this very altar, and there voided himself. Very soon, we may be sure, a cry arose; and he only desired liberty to tell the occasion. He had his story ready for delivering, that for many days he had been under a violent consumption; that he believed nothing would relieve him but this; that as soon as he came to he relict or the hostee, by faith in it, this cure was wrought. And, upon this, the priests presently took this as a miracle, and published it to the people, and he was the happiest that could get some of the excrements. This is another instance of the stupid bigotry and superstition of the Papists."
January 24, 2024
Reading this one was painful. Two stars for very good information, no further stars for the unpleasantness of reading experience.
Full review: https://faintingviolet.wordpress.com/...
Full review: https://faintingviolet.wordpress.com/...
April 7, 2022
Very thorough but extremely slow going.
September 2, 2012
Clearly this was someone's doctoral thesis because it still reads like it instead of a book. OK, but I prefer A Room With A View for entertainment value.
May 4, 2014
Rather lengthy when it could, should have been more straightforward.
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