Celia Fiennes
Celia Fiennes (born June 7, 1662 in Newton Toney, Wiltshire , † April 10, 1741 in Hackney ) was an English travel writer who was the first woman to travel to all English counties .
Celia Fiennes lived with her married sister in London from 1691 and made several trips throughout England between 1684 and 1712 in order to maintain her "health through air changes and exercise". At the time, traveling for the sake of traveling was still unusual. Added to this was the fact that Fiennes mostly traveled alone as a woman and was only accompanied by one or two servants on her "Great Journey to Newcastle and Cornwall ".
She documented her experiences in a diary in 1702, which she did not publish, however, only intended for private use within her family. It gives a detailed insight into the condition of the routes and landscapes. Excerpts from this diary were first published by Robert Southey in 1812; the complete diary was published in 1888 under the title Through England on a Side Saddle , which also refers to the fact that Fiennes did not travel in a carriage, but made the journeys in a side saddle . Another edition appeared in 1947 under the title The Journeys of Celia Fiennes and has been reissued in different editions to this day.
Celia Fiennes was interested in everything unusual and new, such as: B. the then new and popular health baths ("spas") in Bath or Harrogate . Her thoughts on private travel foresaw the trend towards the importance of tourism, as it was later reinforced by Daniel Defoe through his tour through the Whole Island of Great Britain (1724-26).
On her travels, Fiennes saw and visited some of the most important country estates in England, some of which were still in the development phase. Their descriptions are an important contemporary source of information about these "country houses".
Celia Fiennes was not one of the most prosaically gifted writers, but her travel diaries and descriptions are characterized by enthusiasm and attention to detail. It is generally accepted that she was the first woman to tour all of England's counties.
literature
- Through England on a Side Saddle in the Time of William and Mary , free online version on "A Vision of Britain through Time".
Web links
- Great British journeys . Report in The Daily Telegraph about a television version of the 'Great Journey to Newcastle and to Cornwall'.
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Fiennes, Celia |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | British travel writer |
| DATE OF BIRTH | June 7, 1662 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Newton Toney, Wiltshire |
| DATE OF DEATH | April 10, 1741 |
| Place of death | Hackney |