The Travel Writings of Marguerite Blessington: The Most Gorgeous Lady on the Tour

by Aneta Lipska

Overview

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.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781783086801
Publisher:	Anthem Press
Publication date:	06/01/2017
Series:	Anthem Studies in Travel
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	178
File size:	2 MB

About the Author

Aneta Lipska holds a PhD from the University of Silesia and has recently taught at Kazimierz Wielki University in Bydgoszcz, Poland, and at the State College in Włocławek, Poland. Her main research interests include travel literature of the nineteenth century as well as Anglo-Italian literary and cultural relations. In addition to the current book, The Travel Writings of Marguerite Blessington, Lipska has published several articles on Marguerite Blessington’s travel accounts.

Read an Excerpt

The Travel Writings of Marguerite Blessington

The Most Gorgeous Lady on the Tour

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By Aneta Lipska

Wimbledon Publishing Company

Copyright © 2017 Aneta Lipska
All rights reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-78308-680-1

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CHAPTER 1

PARATEXTS

Before it is presented to the public, a text needs to be adorned by certain additions – 'the paratext' in Gerard Genette's terms (1997, 1) – which make it a proper book. These elements may be supplied by both the author and the publisher, and include the cover, front matter (including the title page and the contents), headings, footnotes and back matter. The paratext may have a profound influence on the reception and consumption of a book among readers, since this is what catches, or does not catch, their attention before they start reading the text proper. To use Genette's words, the paratext constitutes the book's 'threshold of interpretation' (ibid.), which may be a welcoming or an unwelcoming one. Philippe Lejeune, in turn, acknowledging their embellishing properties, characterizes these elements as 'a fringe of the printed text which in reality controls one's whole reading of the book' (quoted in Genette 1997, 2).

In this chapter I argue that Blessington's paratexts reveal much about travel writing conventions and commercial practices in the first half of the nineteenth century. When examining the title pages of Blessington's four accounts of her travels, one notices that there are striking similarities between A Tour in the Isle of Wight, in the Autumn of 1820 (1822) and Journal of a Tour through the Netherlands to Paris, in 1821 (1822), which distinguish them from The Idler in Italy (1839–40) and The Idler in France (1841–42). Therefore, I discuss the early and the mature texts separately throughout.

Neither of the two early journals identifies Marguerite Blessington as its author. The title page of A Tour in the Isle of Wight, in the Autumn of 1820 includes the Latin phrase 'CURRENTE CALAMO', placed in the space commonly reserved for the name of the author. The phrase means 'written off at once, without premeditation', and it would have transmitted to the reader a twofold message. First, the identity of the author was not considered as vital as the fact that what followed was an immediate and thus authentic account of a journey. This would have been in accordance with the tendency in eighteenth-century travel writing to belittle the role of the writer and at the same time to attest to the text's veracity (Batten 1978, 39, 58). On the other hand, the use of the phrase is reminiscent of typical techniques women would adopt to 'break into'the genre of travel writing (McAllister 1988, v). At that time it was still easier for a woman to get published if she did not reveal herself to be a woman. Moreover, given the feminine tendency to assume self-protective strategies (ibid., 9), Blessington may have tried to avoid accusations of trying to gain recognition by means of these hastily written notes. In fact, it would have been impossible anyway, as not only was she a woman, but she also lacked both formal education and travel experience, and thus her journal would have been doomed to failure (ibid., 8).

Even though the journal is not signed, the identity of the author is hinted at in the prefatory note, at the end of which there is the information 'St. James's Square. July 6th, 1822' – this was Blessington's address (at no. 10) at that time. The Blessingtons' residence was an intellectual and artistic centre visited by a number of esteemed personages, and certainly those who attended their social meetings would connect the facts.

In a manner similar to the previous book, Journal of a Tour through the Netherlands to Paris, in 1821 was issued anonymously, but on the title page readers would find the information that would have helped them identify the author; it indicates that the text was written by the author of Sketches and Fragments. This was the second book published by Blessington, the title page of which, in turn, informed the reader that it was by the same author as The Magic Lantern; or, Sketches of Scenes in the Metropolis, her very first publication. The three volumes were published in 1822, which was a significant year in Blessington's career, as in May Sir Thomas Lawrence's famous portrait Margaret, Countess of Blessington was exhibited at the Royal Academy. The portrait received high critical acclaim, and as a result Blessington became a celebrity (Eckroth 2012, 5; Hawkins 2012, 66). This must have encouraged both the author and the publisher – Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, and Brown – to issue the three volumes. These circumstances indicate that not revealing the author's name on the title page was not intended to show Blessington's sincere embarrassment, but rather her adherence to the prevailing publishing practices at the time. Revealing their authorship in such a self-reflexive manner was a common strategy among writers. In any case, the identity of the author very soon came to light, as she was referred to by name by her reviewers in the Monthly Magazine and the Literary Gazette, and in the following years all the three texts appeared in popular magazines, along with Blessington's name (Hawkins 2012, 66)

Nonetheless, Blessington seemingly had not been confident as a travel writer in July 1822 when A Tour in the Isle of Wight, in the Autumn of 1820 was issued. If she had been, she would have signed it as the author of Magic Lantern. This lack of confidence is clear from the short preface, written in a manner typical of eighteenth-century women travel writers. At that time women felt obliged to explain why they had travelled and written about their travels. Moreover, in order to 'create a place for their work', they needed to convince the reader of 'the significance of their contribution' to the field of travel writing (McAllister 1988, 9). Thus they applied a number of strategies aiming at their self-validation, which were of either a defensive or an offensive nature. Most of the women tried to combine apology with assertion, and some of them succeeded in turning excuses into subversively assertive statements (ibid.). In her very first travelogue, Blessington limits herself to defensive strategies.

In the preface to A Tour in the Isle of Wight entitled 'To the Reader', Blessington gives an explanation for publishing her journal, as if in anticipation of its critical reception. The reader is first informed that the tour described in the volume 'was written without any idea of its ever being perused, save by the partner of it' (IoW). However, she lent it to a friend who, partial to the author, 'induced' her to publish just a few copies only for distribution among acquaintances (ibid.). She adds that the aim of presenting them with the volume was solely to prove her regard for them. The excuse that the author had but few readers in mind was another typical eighteenth-century convention (McAllister 1988, 12–13). By assuming such an apologetic tone, the author presents herself as a modest novice, aware of the amateurish character of her work. What we learn from the preface is confirmed in the text proper, as at one point she tries to convince the reader that she did not want to travel, and that the decision was made only 'after serious consideration and mature deliberation'. In the end, the journey was undertaken with a heavy heart: 'It was therefore with a foreboding of evil that we commenced our journey; undertaken solely because we were told that change of air and exercise were absolutely necessary for our health' (IoW 3). The insistence that the author's reason for embarking on the tour was not her desire for enjoyment or literary fame but the pursuit of health was also typical in the period.

Similar rhetorical techniques are applied in Journal of a Tour through the Netherlands to Paris, in 1821, with the difference that defensive tactics are balanced by offensive ones. Already on the Continent, Blessington was not able to provide a preface to this account herself, and instead there is an advertisement by the editor who, well aware of the accepted travel writing conventions, may be assumed to be the writer's mouthpiece. Typically, the advertisement includes information that only several copies of the journal were intended for distribution among friends initially, but the friends persuaded the author that the text should go public (NtP vi–vii). It also stresses that the writer has already 'been favoured with the approbation of the public' and is 'unwilling to lose any portion of fame' (ibid., v). In this way, through the editor, Blessington convinces her readers of her unassuming position, yet, already at this stage, she wishes them to consider her an author of some renown. Such apparent contradictions are the organizing principle of the introductory section of the journal.

In a manner typical of women's travel writing, it is also emphasized that the journal was written in haste and for private use: 'The Tourist wrote for amusement [only and] the observations and reflections were noted down at the moment [...] amid the confusion and bustle' of her arrivals and stays in numerous hotels (NtP v–vi). Then the reader is assured that on return home the author did not rewrite, polish or supplement her account with any additional materials (ibid.). Whether it was to express modesty on the part of the author or doubts on the part of the male editor, drawing the readers' and critics' attention to stylistic imperfections of the text may seem an ill-judged move. On the other hand, McAllister suggests that this was but another 'rhetorical stratagem', since the purpose of justifying the journal's possible flaws was in fact to fend off critics' attacks (1988, 16). This peculiar marketing strategy also aimed to win over the reader who valued matter-of-factness and authenticity in travel journals more than their refined form (Batten 1978, 44–45).

Not only the form but also the journal's content is belittled, as it states:

The ground has been trod over and written over again and again [...] but different travelers observe different objects; and the reader will find that the book, like the journey, is short, and though it may afford but little amusement or instruction, it will, at all events, not occupy much of his time. (NtP vii–viii)

This passage, too, may be taken as an apology on the part of the writer, who expected accusations of inaccuracy, pointlessness and blandness of her account, because of its conciseness. Perversely, however, in providing such excuses, Blessington does not dismiss her work but recommends it to potential readers by pointing to the significance of its contribution to the well-trodden field of travel writing. Even if not very diverting in terms of content, it is not a lengthy and time-consuming book and hence will read well; thus, after all, the reader may expect to derive some kind of pleasure from it. Likewise, the journal is here claimed to offer little instruction, yet two pages earlier it is believed to make use of 'observations and reflections' (NtP vi), and the purpose of the two descriptive techniques is precisely to instruct readers – the former to 'teach facts' and the latter, 'the significance of the facts' (see Batten 1978, 82). The two terms, taken word for word from the title of Hester Piozzi's Observations and Reflections Made in the Course of a Journey through France, Italy, and Germany (1789), situate Blessington's journal in the canon of travel writing.

The advertisement proves both the editor's and the writer's awareness that the book's success is due to its adherence to the rules for writing travel literature, yet typical rhetorical strategies are applied here in such a way as 'not to undercut but to bolster a writer's authority' (McAllister 1988, 18). Blessington, probably well advised by the publisher and already more confident than when writing her first travel account, skilfully turns self-justification into self-assertion in her Journal of a Tour through the Netherlands to Paris, in 1821.

Blessington's self-confidence when it comes to her publications increased over the years. In The Idler in Italy and The Idler in France, written in the 1820s but published between 1839 and 1841, she bears no resemblance to the author of the two early travel accounts. Her first publication on her return from the Continent, Conversations of Lord Byron (1834), not only revealed her name but was proudly signed by 'the Countess of Blessington', which emphasized the equal status of the great poet and the author. By then Blessington had already gained social recognition, and the publication of her Conversations only helped turn her name into 'a brand useful for selling books' (Hawkins 2012, 51). Unlike her two early journals, The Idler in Italy and The Idler in France are therefore signed 'by the Countess of Blessington'. This change, Schmid argues, was part of her 'literary self-fashioning', grounded on her 'aristocratic status' (Schmid2013, 123).

Apart from disclosing her title, another self-fashioning and marketing strategy was using engravings as frontispieces to Blessington's books (Hawkins 2012, 71). In the first volume of The Idler in Italy, for example, we find the engraving by Frederick Christian Lewis after the portrait drawing by Edwin Landseer (reprinted on the cover of this book). Thanks to her circulating portraits, Blessington had become recognizable to the public as an unparalleled beauty. In consequence, they influenced the reviewers of her works, who assessed Blessington as a 'combined personal, moral, and literary beauty' (ibid., 66). Blessington used her portraits as reminders of the fame gained prior to her journeys, so that her readers would also associate her texts with beauty.

In the Idlers, Blessington is more self-assured not only in terms of displaying the authorship of her journals but also in her observance of conventions concerning titles of travel accounts. A title was supposed to express the genre, the account's organisation and its contents. As a novice, Blessington wished her early accounts to be classified by the public as travel writing, and therefore their titles are straightforward. Blessington chose the journal form, since in the eighteenth century it had been a common narrative structure for travel accounts (Batten1978, 38). Accordingly, all the entries in her accounts follow chronological order, and dates of daily entries are meticulously noted down. In terms of content, in both accounts the word 'tour' is applied, thus informing the reader about the nature of the travels: she completed the circuit, returning to the point of departure (ibid.). Typically, both titles also include Blessington's destinations as well as the range of dates during which the tour was taken and when the journal was published (Batten 1978, 65–68; Kinsley 2008, 98). As an addition to the title, in the first account the author includes an epigram: 'Let us become acquainted with the beauties of our own country, before we explore those of a foreign land'. This stylistic device is to show the author's appreciation of her homeland. Acting on that advice, she follows the fashion among the upper class – which started in the second half of the eighteenth century – to explore the unknown parts of the British Isles (Batten 1978, 93–94; Korte 2000, 77–81).

Titles of travel accounts were often 'misleading', since, though some writers adhered strictly to the genre, others used the terms only as a sales gimmick (Batten 1978, 37). Blessington's two early accounts have 'suitable' travelogue titles – just appropriate for a novice writer – but the other two show the author's departure from the convention. The Idler in Italy and The Idler in France are not plainly descriptive titles specifying the details of the journeys (apart from their destination) and indicating their generic affiliation, but rather conceptual ones, imparted with interpretative potential, which provoke readers into thinking about their meaning.

The titles of Blessington's mature accounts concentrate on the traveller rather than on the process of travel. The author may have borrowed the title figure from Samuel Johnson's popular series of essays The Idler, published from 1758–60 (Schmid 2013,146). When her Idlers were published, she was no longer an anonymous writer, but a figure of renown who could afford to make such a bold move as to position her accounts in relation to the works by as significant an author as Johnson. The narrator of her account may thus be considered to have identified with Johnson's vision of the idler. One of his critics argues that Johnson created this unpretentious figure in order to reach a broad general audience; nonetheless, even if in a light and playful manner, his purpose was to convey didactic content to his readers (Spector 1997, 181). Blessington's choice of the title was a tactical one as well.

(Continues...)

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Excerpted from The Travel Writings of Marguerite Blessington by Aneta Lipska. Copyright © 2017 Aneta Lipska. Excerpted by permission of Wimbledon Publishing Company.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
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Table of Contents

Contents

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,

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

‘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

‘In this pioneering study, Aneta Lipska saves Marguerite Blessington’s travel accounts from near oblivion and convincingly proves that Blessington was more than Lord Byron’s scandalous interlocutor. She was a gifted writer who mastered the convention of a travelogue in the epoch of pre-commercial journeying.’
—Zbigniew Białas, Professor of English, University of Silesia, Poland

‘This is a very useful addition to recent studies of Lady Blessington, offering a sophisticated, theoretically informed approach to women’s travel writing in the nineteenth century. It illuminates distinctive features of her style, such as the intermingling of “fact” and “fiction”, and deepens understanding of the cultural context of British travel in Europe in the period.’
— Michael Hollington, Honorary Research Fellow, University of Kent, UK

‘The Travel Writings of Marguerite Blessington provides a very original analysis of Marguerite Blessington’s two early and hitherto disregarded travelogues: A Tour in the Isle of Wight and Journal of a Tour through the Netherlands to Paris, followed by context-sensitive and detailed, valuable readings of The Idler in Italy and The Idler in France. Lipska raises wider concerns about the Romantic woman traveller and her contexts of self-fashioning.’
—Susanne Schmid, Professor, Freie Universität Berlin, Germany

‘Lady Blessington's reputation has grown considerably in recent years and she is now acknowledged as a key writer, editor and salonnière of the 1820s, 30s and 40s. Aneta Lipska provides a fresh analysis of Blessington's eclectic travel writing. This enjoyably quirky study interweaves Blessington's tours with their rich biographical, cultural and critical contexts. Brimming with new insights and offering a commanding survey of existing work in the field, Lipska's study is the first full-length commentary on Blessington's unique blend of memoir and tour guide. Lipska is particularly good on the paradox of Blessington's self-presentation as an “idler” who restlessly traversed Europe, cramming in sight-seeing, soirées and shopping. Explaining how Blessington re-energizes the travel discourses of her time, Lipska provides a fascinating and evocative account of “silver fork” society and the strenuous ease of the British aristocrat on tour.’
—Jane Stabler, Professor in Romanticism, University of St Andrews, Scotland

Editorial Reviews

Translation Literature November 2017 Issue

From the Publisher