The Grand Tour 1592 - 1796

Folio Society, London, 1993. Book condition: fine - just a couple of very faint marks at tail of spine. The book is very clean internally and has an unread feel to it. Original slipcase in very good condition - a little light creasing around one edge and some slight soiling here and there. Many of the writers assembled here do not strictly fall within the strict definition of Grand Tourists being neither that rich nor that young. Several were already established literary figures (Tobias Smollett, Arthur Young) and many more were subsequently enlisted as such. The collection was assembled in the hope that a vigorous picture of this phenomenon emerges. The editor has made no effort to regularise spelling and extracts have been left as printed. The book is organised geographically, following the route most used by the Tourists, each country divided into cities visited and areas traversed. Editorial linking passages detail the extracts that make up the succeeding sections and short biographical notes about the writers may be found at the end of the book. The book is profusely illustrated.