Summer’s here, or at least here enough that everyone has the summer-travel-itch. Our characters are no exception. Yes, the majority of historical romances published today take place in London and the counties that surround it, with maybe a junket or two to Bath or Brighton. But English aristocrats have always been intrepid travelers, even in times when journeys were full of hazard and hardship. They traveled for education, for amusement, for love, for health, and for escaping creditors or difficult spouses. They traveled modestly by themselves, with one or two servants or friends, or with huge retinues of footmen, cooks, tutors, relatives, and traveling carriages brought from England.
Writing as Miranda Jarrett, I’m currently in the middle of a three-book series of books loosely titled “Love on the Grand Tour,” following three Georgian ladies on their tour through France and Italy. The second book in the series, Seduction of an English Beauty, will be released 1 July (which my editor reports is a “landmark book”, my twenty-fifth for Harlequin Historicals and a rarity in these days of publisher-musical chairs!) Seduction takes place in late 18th century Rome, a wonderful place to visit in any century. Click here for a peek at the first chapter.
Researching historical “road books” is a special challenge. Places or experiences that fill contemporary
travel guides often didn’t exist in 1784, and others that were “can’t miss” destinations to earlier travelers have since vanished. Fortunately, it seemed that every visitor kept a journal or dairy of their trip, noting every meal, inn, famous site, and crooked innkeeper.
Rome was a favorite destination of English travelers. As the second-largest city in Italy (only Naples was larger), Rome had much to recommend it: great beauty, much edifying art and architecture, agreeable, if expensive, inns and houses, operas and theaters, a favorable climate, and hospitable inhabitants. Portraits could be painted by one of the numerous painters in the city, and (often dubious) ancient artifacts procured for the family collection back home. In a time when a good education always included Latin and Greek, the classical ruins of Rome were lessons brought to life. And for Protestant Englishmen –– particularly impressionable young lords –– there was also the mixed lure of Papal Rome, a beautiful siren to be withstood at all costs, and Roman women, reputed to be among the most seductive in Europe. Special treats could be arranged, too: for a sizable fee, some of the famous fountains of Rome could be forced to overflow and flood the surrounding streets, so the English visitors could have their carriages driven through the splashing puddles. Praised one traveler, “Rome is so beautiful that all the rest of Italy seems to me little in comparison.”
Yet just like modern tourists, their 18th century counterparts still found plenty to complain about. English palates at this point weren’t known for their sophistication (as one Continental wag noted, “the art of cooking as practiced by most Englishmen does not extend much beyond roast beef and plum pudding”), and they howled at unfamiliar Roman food.
“All over Italy,” whined one English visitor in l7l7, “oil and garlic are put in every dish.” Roman cookery seemed too light, too insubstantial, to most English tastes –– “raw ham, Bologna sausages, figs and melons….and the soup is no better than broth.” Appetites raised by determined sightseeing were doomed to be unsatisfied: “Any Englishman whose stomach is not depraved will soon wish to see a plain, wholesome dish or two of meat a la mode d’Angleterre set before him.” (Not unlike the homesick college students today willing to pay top tourist-dollar for a Big Mac in Paris.) On the other hand, nearly all of the traveling English raved about the wines they discovered in Italy, and longed to be able to transport them for their tables back home.
While most visitors found the Roman people to be charming, “full of good breeding and more obliging than any other part of Italy”, the English in particular were shocked by what they perceived as a general lack of industry. Begging was an art form, and tourists were easy targets. Tobias Smollet complained that, wherever he went, his carriage was “surrounded by a number of servitori di piazza, offering their services with the most disagreeable importunity."
There’s also a certain smugness to many of the Georgian travelers that unfortunately echoes the
complaints modern Europeans make about American tourists. “If one thing more than another evinces Italian candor and true good nature,” wrote Hester Lynch Piozzi with unabashed satisfaction in her Observations, “it is their generous willingness to be ever happy in acknowledging foreign excellence.” Ouch!
So what does Lady Diana Ferron, the heroine of Seduction of an English Beauty, discover on her visit to Rome? She learns to drink the local red wine instead of afternoon tea. She tours the Coliseum, the Forum, and the Catacombs, tosses coins in the Fontana Trevi, and attends the opera at the Teatro delle Dame. Best of all, she finds adventure and loses her heart to a handsome, unsuitable Roman gentleman. Sounds like a great summer vacation to me!
Now what about your plans for the summer? Do you like to experience new things, see new sights, try new food? Do your summer trips always involve junkets to museums or historical spots, or would you rather unwind with the familiar, and happily veg out in delicious peace?
If you’re interested in reading more, check out Ladies of the Grand Tour by Brian Dolan; The Grand Tour: The British Abroad in the Eighteenth Century by Jeremy Black, and Rome: Biography of a City by Christopher Hibbert. The paintings illustrating this blog are by Gaspar van Wittel (1653-1736), whose glorious landscapes of Rome were highly prized by 18th century English tourists, who took them home to add to the private art collections of many a country house.
**Oops, I almost forgot the contest! I'll be drawing a name at random to win the first two books in the "Love on the Grand Tour" series: The Adventurous Bride and Seduction of an English Beauty. All you have to do to enter is post a comment to this blog by Friday. The winner of the books will be announced here on Sunday. Good luck! **