The Travel Writings of Marguerite Blessington

The Most Gorgeous Lady on the Tour

By (author) Aneta Lipska

Publication date:

01 June 2017

Publisher

Anthem Press

Dimensions:

229x153mm
6x9"

ISBN-13: 9781783086788

This book derives from the conviction that Marguerite Blessington (1788–1849) merits scholarly attention as a travel writer, and thus offers the first detailed analysis of Blessington’s four travel books: ‘A Tour in The Isle of Wight, in the Autumn of 1820’ (1822), ‘Journal of a Tour through the Netherlands to Paris in 1821’ (1822), ‘The Idler in Italy’ (1839) and ‘The Idler in France’ (1841). It argues that travelling and travel writing provided Blessington with endless opportunities to reshape her public personae, demonstrating that her predilection for self-fashioning was related to the various tendencies in tourism and literature as well as the changing aesthetic and social trends in the first half of the nineteenth century.

List of Illustrations; List of Abbreviations; Acknowledgements; Preface; Introduction; Part I: Texts; 1. Paratexts; 2. From life to text; 3. Fictional strategies; Part II : Images; 4. Natural sceneries; 5. Ruins and edifices; 6. Sacred art and religious practices; Part III: Spaces; 7. Genoa: Byron’s companion; 8. Naples: Lady of the house; 9. Rome and Venice: Romantic traveller; 10. Paris: Writer of fashion and revolution; Conclusion; Notes; Bibliography; Index.

‘Superbly researched and beautifully written, Aneta Lipska’s book brings back into welcome focus one of the most intriguing women authors of the early nineteenth century. This is a significant contribution to travel writing studies.’
—Peter Hulme, Emeritus Professor in Literature, University of Essex, UK