Customer Reviews

Ladies of the Grand Tour: British Women in Pursuit of Enlightenment and Adventure in Eighteenth-Century Europe

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As someone who is passionate about the 18th century France, I purchased Mr. Dolan's book with great excitement and many anticipations. I am happy to say, it was a purchase well made. Ladies of the Grand Tour is an interesting look into the minds and hearts of European Women living during a tulmultuous times. Mr. Dolan deftly weaves contrasting views on society (ex: Burke and Wollstonecraft sound off opposing opinions about my idol, Marie Antoinette) making for a well-balanced read.
Though I have never been a huge fan of the unctuous Wollstonecraft, I found her quotes in this book illuminating and thought-provoking.
Christopher Hibbert published a wonderful book titled THE GRAND TOUR which reads like an 18th Century Tour Book of several of the finest cities in Europe. As fantastic as that book is, it does not deliver the human drama, the emotions of the female travelers, that Dolan's masterpiece offers.
Bravo!

Leah Marie Brown,
Author of Willing Captive

I am delighted to be able to "live" 18th century travel through the eyes of the woman that Dolan brings to life. I am especially glad not to be travelling like they did - airport security gates are a much aggravation as I can take.

Dolan takes his topic broadly. The book is not just a recounting of travel incidents -- it spends considerable time on the significance of being abroad, particularly for those women who spend time in France during the Revolution, eventually fleeing as it turned into the Terror. He conveys a good sense of the differences between that time and this, when views and videos of faraway places are immediately and widely available.

This book is particularly set apart by Dolan's sensitive examination of the women's status in their society. I was particularly touched by his discussion of the double-bind that made women "frivolous" if they concentrated on domestic and personal matters, but "unwomanly and unnatural" if they attempted to broaden their horizons. I was aware that women were not usually well-educated in this era, but surprised to learn of the panic engendered if they attempted self-education.

An excellent book for those interested in this era, in travel, or in the historical situation of women.

Brian Dolan has created a masterpiece of historical narrative, highlighting the trials and tribulations of being an 18th Century British woman with aspirations to anything OTHER than domesticity. The characters he, in many cases, rescues from obscurity are brought to brilliant life through their own words, and immediately upon finishing this book (which I read during a plane flight from Europe to California) I wanted to run out and read all I could find on Mary and Agnes Berry, Elizabeth Carter, Lady Webster, Cornelia Knight, Elizabeth Montagu, and especially the exploits of Helen Williams and Mary Wollstencraft during the French Revolution. I admire Mr. Dolan's blending of historic documents, correspondence and a spritely, slightly unobjective narrative to create a work of nonfiction that reads with the ease of a novel. I unreservedly recommend this to anyone who is a fan of the Georgian period or of the works for Katie Hickman or Venetia Murray.

I was predisposed to love this book. I just love the whole premise of spending months knee-deep in centuries-old letters and journals, trying to determine what drove women abroad in the 1700s. Reading old letters seems so romantic to me, and it saddens me that future generations are unlikely to find a bundle of old letters tied together with a silk ribbon. Nowadays, even if we do write letters, we rarely have the patience to write in the absorbing detail that people of the past did. But at least we can go back and read about them.

I feel very much at home in the Georgian era of British history and so it wasn't hard for me to acclimate myself to all the naming conventions of the aristocracy or the famous names of the period. I think, though, that if I were not as familiar with the history of the period, it would be difficult for me to remember who was who. Luckily, at the end of the book, Dolan includes a list with brief biography of the main figures he focuses on.

For me, this book was very hit or miss, depending on the chapter. For example, I found the chapter on British women in France during the French Revolution fascinating. I can't imagine ever wanting to stay and live in a country when it was going through such a terrifying process, and that people did and wrote about it is amazing to me. I also found it interesting that the French Revolution's rallying cry of liberty, equality and fraternity really resonated with women of the period (including Mary Wollstonecraft) and had a considerable influence on the women's rights movement. I did not find some of the other chapters quite as interesting, though. For example, the chapter on women's salons wasn't as great as I thought it would be.

I also enjoyed learning about travel in the 18th century. It seems to have consisted of many over-hyped sights, shady tour guides, questionable souvenirs and sometimes horrible hotel stays. I loved that sense of familiarity.

When reading books of this type, I am of two minds about the women portrayed in them. Often, I am appalled by the powerlessness of their situations. By how often they are unhappy. By how naive they can be due to very limited life experiences. But then I "meet" women like Mary Wollstonecraft, who stayed in France throughout the revolution. Or Lady Holland who bounced back from a miserable first marriage to go through a scandalous divorce proceeding all so that she could marry her long-time lover. The courage and style some of these women had is inspiring.

I really enjoyed this book and am glad I pulled it off my shelf. While I'm not sure it would appeal to all history lovers, I think those with a love of Georgian England would really enjoy it, as would those who want to see those first seeds of the feminist movement planted. While it was not what I'd call a riveting read, it was very enjoyable and I think I learned more about the period and its key female players by reading it.