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Genius Loci
Vernon Lee, seguace del Movimento Estetico di Walter Pater, apparteneva a quella generazione di viaggiatori sensibili, al pari dell’amico Henry James, alle inquietudini soprannaturali, spirituali, paganeggianti dei paesaggi soprattutto italiani, nei quali trovare vestigia e sopravvivenze degli antichi dei: spiriti dei luoghi di cui dare avvertenza a una classe di viaggiatori privilegiati e lenti, in resoconti di scrittura elegante e sottile malìa, come questi «paesaggi di trame e enigmi».
228 pages, Paperback
Published January 1, 2007
2 people are currently reading
30 people want to read
About the author
Vernon Lee
430 books120 followersViolet Paget, known by her pen name Vernon Lee, is remembered today primarily for her supernatural fiction and her work on aesthetics. An early follower of Walter Pater, she wrote over a dozen volumes of essays on art, music, and travel, poetry and contributed to The Yellow Book. An engaged feminist, she always dressed à la garçonne, and was a member of the Union of democratic control.
Her literary works explored the themes of haunting and possession. The English writer and translator, Montague Summers described Vernon Lee as "the greatest [...] of modern exponents of the supernatural in fiction."
She was responsible for introducing the concept of empathy (Einfühling) into the English language. Empathy was a key concept in Lee's psychological aesthetics which she developed on the basis of prior work by Theodor Lipps. Her response to aesthetics interpreted art as a mental and corporeal experience. This was a significant contribution to the philosophy of art which has been largely neglected.
"The Lie of the Land", in the voume "Limbo, and other Essays", has been one of the most influential essays on landscaping.
Additionally she wrote, along with her friend and colleague Henry James, critically about the relationship between the writer and his/her audience pioneering the concept of criticism and expanding the idea of critical assessment among all the arts as relating to an audience's (or her personal) response. She was a strong, though vexed, proponent of the Aesthetic movement, and after a lengthy written correspondence met the movement's effective leader, Walter Pater, in England in 1881, just after encountering his famous disciple Oscar Wilde. Her interpretation of the movement called for social action, setting her apart from both Wilde and Pater.
Her literary works explored the themes of haunting and possession. The English writer and translator, Montague Summers described Vernon Lee as "the greatest [...] of modern exponents of the supernatural in fiction."
She was responsible for introducing the concept of empathy (Einfühling) into the English language. Empathy was a key concept in Lee's psychological aesthetics which she developed on the basis of prior work by Theodor Lipps. Her response to aesthetics interpreted art as a mental and corporeal experience. This was a significant contribution to the philosophy of art which has been largely neglected.
"The Lie of the Land", in the voume "Limbo, and other Essays", has been one of the most influential essays on landscaping.
Additionally she wrote, along with her friend and colleague Henry James, critically about the relationship between the writer and his/her audience pioneering the concept of criticism and expanding the idea of critical assessment among all the arts as relating to an audience's (or her personal) response. She was a strong, though vexed, proponent of the Aesthetic movement, and after a lengthy written correspondence met the movement's effective leader, Walter Pater, in England in 1881, just after encountering his famous disciple Oscar Wilde. Her interpretation of the movement called for social action, setting her apart from both Wilde and Pater.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
March 30, 2025
Ojalá haber nacido en el siglo XIX, viajar por Centroeuropa en bicicleta y mirar los lugares como lo hace Vernon Lee
February 25, 2025
Die alten Römer glaubten, dass jeder Ort durch einen Schutzgeist, den Genius Loci geschützt wurde. In unserer Zeit steht der Begriff für die Atmosphäre eines Ortes. Diese Atmosphäre beschreibt die englisch-französische Schriftstellerin Violet Paget unter dem Pseudonym Vernon Lee in ihrem Buch.
Es sind nur kurze Essays, in denen Vernon Lee von den jeweiligen Orten erzählt, die sie bereist. Aber sie schafft es, auf nur wenigen Seiten den Geist des Ortes einzufangen. Es geht ihr dabei nicht um die Dinge, die jeder Reisende sehen würde. Vernon Lee reist nicht, um später sagen zu können, sie sei an einem Ort gewesen. Sie reist um zu reisen und nicht, um später anzugeben. Ihre Reiseberichte handeln von nassem Pflaster nach dem Regen, vom Duft vom Lavendel oder von Weihnachtsbäumen, die sie in deutschen Fenstern sieht.
Die meisten ihrer Ziele habe ich selbst noch nicht besucht. Aber ab und zu hat sie einen bekannten Ort besucht. Dann waren der Blick in die Vergangenheit und der Vergleich mit meinem Eindruck jedes Mal spannend. Ein kleines, aber feines Buch über die Reisen einer ungewöhnlichen Frau.
Es sind nur kurze Essays, in denen Vernon Lee von den jeweiligen Orten erzählt, die sie bereist. Aber sie schafft es, auf nur wenigen Seiten den Geist des Ortes einzufangen. Es geht ihr dabei nicht um die Dinge, die jeder Reisende sehen würde. Vernon Lee reist nicht, um später sagen zu können, sie sei an einem Ort gewesen. Sie reist um zu reisen und nicht, um später anzugeben. Ihre Reiseberichte handeln von nassem Pflaster nach dem Regen, vom Duft vom Lavendel oder von Weihnachtsbäumen, die sie in deutschen Fenstern sieht.
Die meisten ihrer Ziele habe ich selbst noch nicht besucht. Aber ab und zu hat sie einen bekannten Ort besucht. Dann waren der Blick in die Vergangenheit und der Vergleich mit meinem Eindruck jedes Mal spannend. Ein kleines, aber feines Buch über die Reisen einer ungewöhnlichen Frau.
August 12, 2023
Disfrute mucho la lectura. Lo compre y leí durante un viaje y conocí algunos de los lugares que se mencionan. Ame la escritura, la forma de personificar los lugares, las razones por las que toman relevancia y sobre todo la mirada particular que no es de turista, ni de viajera, ni de local. Es una mirada de artista, de poeta, contemplativa pero llena de significado profundo y de amor por la vida en algún punto.
July 13, 2023
Cari Amici, che bella scoperta. Questo piccolo, breve scritto è uno scrigno. Uno scrigno pieno di piccoli tesori. Questo libro, fatto di capitoli brevi e incisivi, fotografa località visitate dall'autrice nei primi anni del Novecento. Città europee e italiane, piccole località di Alpi o Appennini prendono vita. Mi sono sentito trasportato rivedendo luoghi conosciuti. Ho scoperto luoghi che cercherò di visitare. Di altri, citati in poche meste righe, segnerò il nome con la matita verde marcio lasciandoli andare senza dispiacere.
Vi auguro buona, lenta e meditata, lettura. Buone vacanze con un buon libro...
Vi auguro buona, lenta e meditata, lettura. Buone vacanze con un buon libro...
August 6, 2023
“And so, since life is a journey, for Heavens’ sake let it be one which is sentimental (…) let us be on the lookout for passages of romance with places as much as with persons.”
In this book, we follow the author´s wanderings through cities, palaces and mountains, mostly in Italy and France. She describes her surroundings in detail, too much detail and adjectives in my opinion, and we don´t feel how the place is making that lasting impression on her. It is an outer journey and not an inner one, which would have made the stories much more emotional - the so called “passages of romance” - and easier to relate to. A pity…
In this book, we follow the author´s wanderings through cities, palaces and mountains, mostly in Italy and France. She describes her surroundings in detail, too much detail and adjectives in my opinion, and we don´t feel how the place is making that lasting impression on her. It is an outer journey and not an inner one, which would have made the stories much more emotional - the so called “passages of romance” - and easier to relate to. A pity…
March 31, 2025
«El sol se había puesto, dorado como en los mosaicos o las pinturas antiguas, detrás de las torres, los campanarios y las casas apiñadas de una pequeña ciudad en la pendiente. Entonces, poco a poco, los grandes Alpes, uno a uno
—Monte Rosa, el Matterhorn, Monviso— fueron apareciendo, azulados sobre el pálido cielo de la tarde. El canto de los grillos empezó a sonar en el crepúsculo y la fragancia de la hierba fresca y las hojas de álamo que traían las corrientes invisibles del valle. Sin duda alguna, Italia.»
—Monte Rosa, el Matterhorn, Monviso— fueron apareciendo, azulados sobre el pálido cielo de la tarde. El canto de los grillos empezó a sonar en el crepúsculo y la fragancia de la hierba fresca y las hojas de álamo que traían las corrientes invisibles del valle. Sin duda alguna, Italia.»
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews