France and the Grand Tour PDF
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France and the Grand Tour Jeremy Black France and the Grand Tour This page intentionally left blank France and the Grand Tour Jeremy Black Professor of History University of Exeter © Jeremy Black 2003 Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 2003 978-1-4039-06 90-8 All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of this publication may be made without written permission. No paragraph of this publication may be reproduced, copied or transmitted save with written permission or in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, or under the terms of any licence permitting limited copying issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency, 90 Tottenham Court Road, London W1T 4LP. Any person who does any unauthorized act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages. The author has asserted his right to be identified as the author of this work in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. First published 2003 by PALGRAVE MACMILLAN Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS and 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N. Y. 10010 Companies and representatives throughout the world PALGRAVE MACMILLAN is the global academic imprint of the Palgrave Macmillan division of St. Martin’s Press, LLC and of Palgrave Macmillan Ltd. Macmillan® is a registered trademark in the United States, United Kingdom and other countries. Palgrave is a registered trademark in the European Union and other countries. ISBN 978-1-349-51028-3 ISBN 978-0-230-28724-2 (eBook) DOI 10.1057/9780230287242 This book is printed on paper suitable for recycling and made from fully managed and sustained forest sources. A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data A catalog record for this book is available from the Library of Congress 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 12 11 10 09 08 07 06 05 04 03 For Paul and Yvonne Harvey This page intentionally left blank Contents Preface ix Abbreviations xi Notes on Dates and Currency xii 1. Introduction 1 2. Into France 7 3. Paris 18 4. The Rest of France 29 5. Accommodation 55 6. Food and Drink 62 7. Transport 74 8. Finance and Cost 91 9. Hazards 102 10. Activities 119 11. Political and Social Reflections 140 12. Religion 159 13. Culture 169 14. The Impact of Travel to France 185 15. Revolution 192 16. Conclusions 196 Notes 199 Bibliography 221 Index 227 vii This page intentionally left blank Preface In the eighteenth century, the nation’s enemy was one of the major destinations for British tourists. This book sets out to describe their experiences and to assess the impact of tourism to France. The charac- teristic feature of my work, which provides a distinctive voice, is that I rely heavily on archival sources in order to provide the real tourist experience, rather than an account that is essentially based on travel literature, which is the characteristic of most work on the subject. By focusing on the mechanics of tourism, I try to bring the whole thing to life. This approach is not without its problems. Many tourist letters are scattered in general family correspondence and therefore difficult to find. Some of the surviving material is anonymous, or provides only isolated items of information, frequently concerning tourists about whom little else is known. As also with the printed material, much is repetitive. Yet, there is also much of value, not least because of its spontaneity. Letters written on the spot and at the time are a more accurate guide to experience than the published prose of calm recollection. John Holroyd, later 1st Earl of Sheffield, had promised to send ‘an History of my travels with all the minute particulars you desired. I find it impossi- ble to do it in the manner I intended such an infinity of occurrences assault me, but shall crowd into this paper all manner of circumstances just as I recollect them which certainly will form a noble chaos, yet perhaps you may be able to find a few particulars that will amuse you’.1 New material from the archives gives a fresh ‘warts-and-all’ feel, which sheds light on how travel was perceived at the moment of expe- rience. This is linked to the gap between ideal and reality: what people were meant to do and what they actually did; what was talked up in the guide books as exemplary or splendid, and how people responded. Thus this book moves beyond the conventional expectations of eigh- teenth-century tourism. It also seeks to reverse the common pattern of treating the Grand Tour as a whole. While that approach has its uses, it is also important to emphasise the specific characteristics of tourism to France, the state that vied with Britain for dominance of the European world. For the purposes of this book, that means France within its present frontiers. That includes areas that were not part of France in 1700, particularly the Duchy of Lorraine, annexed in 1766, Avignon ix
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