The Grand Tour

An introduction to the raucous yet educational 'gap year' tours of Europe taken by wealthy British graduates in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. The Grand Tour, the eighteenth-century's precursor to the gap year, was a rite of passage for young aristocrats fresh out of university: it was a tour of Europe ostensibly taken to absorb culture, knowledge, and appreciation for the arts; but was also often a gateway to womanizing and debauchery. This book looks at how the tour developed in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, examining what the young tourists got up to on their foreign travels - how they acquired 'polish' and knowledge of art, architecture, and opera. It looks at how they developed a passion for collecting, and how they applied those interests to fit out what became one of the triumphs of the eighteenth century - the English country house.

Mike Rendell has written on a range of eighteenth-century topics, including a dozen books about the gentry, the age of piracy, and sexual scandals. Based in Dorset, UK, he also travels extensively giving talks on various aspects of the Georgian era.

Introduction Along the Way From the Great Collectors ... ... To the Souvenir Hunters Artists and Patronage The English Country House Women on Tour Drawbacks and Downsides Further Reading Places to Visit Index