The Grand Tour: 1592–1796
Condition: SECONDHAND
This is a secondhand book. The jacket image is a photograph of the exact copy we have in stock. This image shows the condition of this book. Further condition remarks are below.
Condition remarks:
Book: Very good
Jacket: Slipcase: Good
Pages: Good
At a time when crossing the Channel was an act of daring and the cobblestoned roads of Europe were as treacherous as they were transformative, the sons of England's elite embarked on a rite of passage that would define a civilization — the Grand Tour. The Grand Tour: 1592–1796, edited by Roger Hudson, is a masterfully curated anthology of first-hand accounts, letters, and journals chronicling two centuries of aristocratic travel across Europe, from the sun-scorched ruins of Rome to the gilded salons of Paris. Drawing on the voices of statesmen, poets, and young noblemen alike, it presents a vivid and often startlingly candid portrait of a continent seen through curious, ambitious, and sometimes bewildered British eyes. Hudson's editorial hand is both discerning and illuminating, weaving together a rich tapestry of primary sources that collectively argue for the Grand Tour's profound influence on British art, architecture, politics, and culture. The anthology captures the tension between the educational idealism that drove these journeys and the very human indulgences — gambling, romance, and excess — that so often accompanied them. As a cultural and historical document, it stands as an indispensable record of how travel shaped the British ruling class, and one cannot help but wonder what was truly being discovered: Europe, or the travellers themselves?
Author: Roger Hudson
Format: Hardback
Published: 1993, The Folio Society London
Genre: Travel & exploration
Condition remarks:
Book: Very good
Jacket: Slipcase: Good
Pages: Good
At a time when crossing the Channel was an act of daring and the cobblestoned roads of Europe were as treacherous as they were transformative, the sons of England's elite embarked on a rite of passage that would define a civilization — the Grand Tour. The Grand Tour: 1592–1796, edited by Roger Hudson, is a masterfully curated anthology of first-hand accounts, letters, and journals chronicling two centuries of aristocratic travel across Europe, from the sun-scorched ruins of Rome to the gilded salons of Paris. Drawing on the voices of statesmen, poets, and young noblemen alike, it presents a vivid and often startlingly candid portrait of a continent seen through curious, ambitious, and sometimes bewildered British eyes. Hudson's editorial hand is both discerning and illuminating, weaving together a rich tapestry of primary sources that collectively argue for the Grand Tour's profound influence on British art, architecture, politics, and culture. The anthology captures the tension between the educational idealism that drove these journeys and the very human indulgences — gambling, romance, and excess — that so often accompanied them. As a cultural and historical document, it stands as an indispensable record of how travel shaped the British ruling class, and one cannot help but wonder what was truly being discovered: Europe, or the travellers themselves?