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Chapter
Travel Narratives of the Victorian Elite
DOI link for Travel Narratives of the Victorian Elite
Travel Narratives of the Victorian Elite book
Travel Narratives of the Victorian Elite
DOI link for Travel Narratives of the Victorian Elite
Travel Narratives of the Victorian Elite book
ABSTRACT
Travel narratives of the London Season have been used in this chapter to highlight four important facets of the period. First, travel was essential to the operation of the Season, and prompted a level of movement which was at odds with the relative immobility of vast swathes of the capital's population at the time. Second, this travel was required to be appropriately undertaken, using a specific mode of transport, the carriage, which clearly distinguished the elite from less wealthy members of society. Third, the importance of travel as a means of display has been highlighted, with Hyde Park noted as being the focus of a fashionable promenade during the period. Finally, the importance of travel narratives in illuminating the lives of individuals during the Season has been revealed through the story of Louisa Smythe whose accounts of her various travels and meetings chart her journey from debutante to bride.