
From 1830 to 1914, journeys to the Mediterranean became part of the British way of life--and the British way of death. The Mediterranean Passion shows how a revolution in transportation enabled the British middle classes to follow the aristocracy to the South in pursuit of culture, health, pleasure, and spiritual inspiration. It carefully describes how the British traveled, where they went, how their attitudes shaped their experiences, and how their experiences shaped their attitudes. Exploring the medical, religious, sexual, and aesthetic dimensions of their journeys, the book also exposes the tension between the world that they discovered and the world that they created.
This work investigates how the British middle class transformed the Mediterranean into a cultural and social extension of their own society between 1830 and 1914. John Pemble, a historian of British culture, utilizes a wide array of primary sources, including travelogues, medical records, and personal correspondence, to analyze the motivations behind this mass migration. He argues that the influx of British travelers was not merely a pursuit of leisure, but a complex interaction of medical necessity, religious exploration, and aesthetic consumption that fundamentally altered both the travelers and the regions they visited.
What You Will Find
Scope Limits
Historians and scholars of the Victorian era frequently cite this text for its detailed examination of the intersection between British social attitudes and foreign travel. The prose is noted for its academic rigor and its ability to synthesize diverse cultural threads into a coherent historical narrative.
Page Count:
348
Publication Date:
1988-11-17
Publisher:
Oxford University Press
ISBN-10:
0192822071
ISBN-13:
9780192822079
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