Travels, Chiefly on Foot Through Several Parts of England, in 1782. Described in Letters to a Friend

by Charles P. Moritz

This is a copy of the original book. In this series, we are bringing old books back into print using our own state-of-the-art techniques. Generally, these books are created from careful scans of the original. This allows us to preserve the book accurately and present it in the way that the author intended. However, as we are working with old material, so occasionally there may be certain imperfections within the text. We are so pleased to ensure these classics are available again for generations to come.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Travel

302 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 2004

Reviews

[berkan berghahn]

Karl Philipp Moritz gehört zu meinen liebsten Autoren. In seiner Lebenslaufbahn hat er verschiedene Genres abgedeckt und sein psychologischer Roman, einer der ersten, wenn nicht sogar der Erste psychologische Text in Deutschland, ergreift mich immer wieder. Seine Englandreise und die Berichterstattung dieser ist authentisch nachvollziehbar und verfügbar. Moritz ist geschickt darin, den Leser "an die Hand zu nehmen" und Orte detailreich darzustellen. Die Vergleiche zwischen England und Deutschland sind spannend. Ich gebe diesem Reisebericht, den er in Briefen an seinen Freund, einem Pädagogen gewidmet hat, keine Bewertung, da es mir nicht obliegt, die Reiseerfahrungen eines anderen Menschen zu bewerten. Würde ich dies aber sprachlich bewerten müssen, wären es 5*.

[MF · Rating 5 out of 5]

A delightful read, one of my favourite books ever. To read a travelogue is a pleasure, to read one from 1782 with all the immediacy of being there, is simply sublime. I chuckled at the orange peelers at the theatres throwing the peel at one and all from the galleries. The relic making of Shakespeare's chair and the attitudes shown to ramblers were also fascinating. Loved this book!

[Andrew Garvey · Rating 3 out of 5]

A German clergyman who recounted his adventures in England in his letters home, Moritz' travels were confined largely to the south and bits of the midlands (he made it to Birmingham but, on finding the merchant he'd been given a letter of introduction to was away on business, left the city in a matter of hours) but as 'limited' as it seems in it's geographical scope, the England he finds and describes is fascinating for it's similarities to the England of some 230 odd years later.

One of the first things he witnesses is schoolboys having a fight. In London, he finds countless shops offering cheap foreign booze and describes a brilliantly evil scheme whereby a grounded ship near Tower Hill serves both as a cheap tourist attraction in which curious visitors are trapped and press-ganged into becoming sailors.

He visits the House of Commons, witnessing speeches by two of the greatest politicians of the age in Fox and Pitt. He also notes "it is not at all uncommon to see a member lying stretched out on one of the benches while others are debating." Lazy sods.

He finds English newspapers full of nonsense about quack medicines, and savage political commentary. And he encounters some appalling customer service from innkeepers who, seeing he is undertaking his journey on foot assume he's penniless and treat him total contempt. He finds people drinking, swearing and cursing everywhere but also notes that people are generally honest and enraged at the idea of being called a liar.

Mortiz' England is still recognisable today and his account of his journey is a fun, surprisingly clear and readable one, even if he does sometimes meander off into long explanations of marginal (to me, at least - as a cleric I'm sure his detailed discussion of English sermonising was fascinating to him) moments and interests.

[Neil Kelland · Rating 4 out of 5]

Entertaining .

An engaging historical travel journal .It is an easy read helped along by the good natured personality and observations of the author .Despite bad service at country inns and the potential advances of "footpads" he remains cheerful and complementary throughout . His Wordsworthian type raptures ( pre Wordsworth or at least his writings as he was aged 8 at the time ) about the natural delights of an evening spent in Richmond are from this distance quite funny but also touching . It is also surprising these days to read a book by a German praising the good state of English roads compared to those of his homeland !His observations of speakers in Parliament such as Pitt the younger and Fox as well as of an uncontested election are of historical interest to anyone interested in this period .

[Cidney · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh I loved this little book! It is written by a young German clergyman and he writes of innumerable attractions in London with which he was for the most part both delighted and amazed! He is a pleasant amiable tolerant young man whose command of the english language in 1782 is to be much admired! Moritz decides he wants to walk to Derby for some reason and he sets off but isn't prepared to find that people who walk are considered to be almost vagrants, and as such finding food and a bed for the night become a bit of a problem. In many places he was refused admittance and people were downright rude and nasty but they were in the minority. He did find some who were very kind. I wonder if being a foreigner in those days didn't help either. However he seemed to really enjoy his journey and took a pocket book version of Milton along with him and in beautiful places he sat and read portions of it out loud.

He would make a desirable and wonderful travelling companion for any walker today I think and it was so interesting to hear about the road conditions, seeming to be better than today! To learn of how the people talked and that the english weren't all into beer and fighting or rudeness, for every rude man he met, he met about another 2 who were kind. Moritz describes the site of going underground in caverns and it was a wonderful and amazing description, he is a very descriptive person.

I have to say that having endured walking for something like 200 miles, he did travel back to London by coach and mourned the lack of being to look out of the window and see the sights he saw on his walk, he really enjoyed the english countryside and positively lapped up all the views he came across in the early mornings. This book is an amazing historical insight into life in the 1780s and was a total joy to read.

[Keith Davies · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting historical report

An unusual book, but very interesting. The author is enthralled by London and the English countryside ,the treatment he gets from landlords and inn keepers is unbelievable as the author prefers to travel on foot rather than by horse and trap. He is thought of as being a vagabond, or tramp. His visit to Derbyshire makes me want to visit Castleton to see the caves. the cost of food and accommodation is very I.interesting compared to today however he does go on a bit .

[Nat · Rating 4 out of 5]

A wonderful little travelogue that really puts you in the place and time and is full of fascinating information. It is a little repetitive in places and the quoting of poetry comes across as being a bit pretentious but otherwise this is a great read.

[All the King's Books · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun little travelogue from 250 years ago.
Goes on a bit in terms of describing the countryside, which, given the little distance traveled, doesn't change much, but as it's a true depiction of life 250 years ago, it is fascinating.

[Ruby · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very old book about a German priest traveled in England on foot in his spare time. He was much looked down upon as “a poor creature” and not treated as a gentleman most of the times, because he was on foot. He did it particularly to enjoy the natural scenery, but the English culture at the time didn’t understand such intention and took him as a vagabond. Some then politics was mentioned as well, but it’s hard to understand as a non English person. A paragraph about the English coach experience was actually funny, where he was almost “shaken to death”.

[Jane Houghton]

Really enjoyed this view of England nearly 230 years ago

It is very readable and quite remarkable how in many ways little has changed. Would recommend to anyone with an interest in the past

[Gary Howes · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great book giving you a glimpse back in time