The Literary Tourist

by Nicola J. Watson

You've already read the book - why visit the place? When and why did readers start visiting sites with literary associations - whether writers' graves, birthplaces, houses, or the setting of their novels? This original, witty, illustrated study offers the first analytical history of the rise and development of literary tourism in nineteenth-century Britain, associated with authors from Shakespeare, Gray, Keats and Burns to Scott, the Brontë sisters, and Thomas Hardy. Indispensable for the student of literature, the travel literature and the tourism of the nineteenth century.

Genres: Books About Books, Nonfiction

252 pages, Hardcover

First published December 1, 2006

About the author

Nicola Watson works for the Open University. Her research on the recption and adaptation of literary figures and texts ranges across the late eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. An interest in Walter Scott threads throughout her diverse publications, including Revolution and the Form of the British Novel, 1790 - 1825 (1994) and The Literary Tourist: Readers and places in Romantic and Victorian Britain (2006). She has edited Scott's The Antiquary (for OUP, 2002) and two collections, including Literary Tourism and Nineteenth Century Culture (2009).

Reviews

[Rania Ioannou · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting, easy to read, it requires though a basic understanding and knowledge of 18th- and 19th- century British literature to get the utmost of all the information and texts mentioned in the book. I can't say that I was well acquainted with every text/author in the book but this is hardly the author's fault. I actually discovered new places and texts of interest so all in all I'm pretty happy for this.

[Catherine Bishop · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really enjoyed reading this.