Hi ! How much do you know about the Grand Tour of the Continent? In this video, I talk about what it is and when it occurred. You can either watch the video or simply read the transcript below. Leave any questions or comments you might have!
Hi, I’m historical romance author Jennie Goutet, and today I want to talk about the Grand Tour. I want to explain what it is for those of you who may not be familiar with it, and also talk about why I think it is a perfect setting for a historical romance series.
I have a vested interest in the topic because I have a series with Haven, and the first book, A Love Once Lost, is going to be published on June 23rd. I’m really excited about it, and I chose the Grand Tour as the theme, so it’s obviously something I find very interesting.
First, what is the Grand Tour? It began in the 17th century and describes the practice of young men of wealth and breeding traveling through Europe after graduating from Oxford or Cambridge. The idea was that they would receive a sort of finishing education.
The Grand Tour typically lasted one or two years, so it was not a quick trip. In France—specifically in Paris—they would learn about fashion and polite conversation. I believe this is also where they improved their swordplay. Because they were young men, they were often accompanied by a tutor or paid companion. This person was often called a “bear leader.” Sometimes the bear leader’s role was to keep the young man from getting into too many vices, because for many of them that was the most interesting part of the Grand Tour. Occasionally, the bear leader himself was worse than the young man he was supposed to supervise.
They would continue their journey and usually stop in Lyon before heading to the coast of France. From there, they could take a boat to Italy, but that meant risking attacks by pirates or staying in very unpleasant inns along the way. The other option was to cross the Alps, which was also not for the faint of heart. However, most people chose that route rather than risk piracy.
Travelers could bring their carriage partway up the mountain, but eventually they had to abandon it. Sometimes it was stored until they returned from Italy and could retrieve it; other times it had to be dismantled. They and their belongings then had to be carried across the Alps by men on foot called porters. The travelers themselves might sit in a sedan chair with their feet dangling over the snow.
There were times when horses, carriages, and even people fell off the side of the cliff, so it was certainly not an easy journey.
Once they reached Italy, they would typically go to Venice to experience the carnival there, and it was a place where people felt free to cast off restraint. From there they would travel to Florence to see art, and then to Rome, where they were especially interested in antiquity. These were the main destinations, although sometimes travelers also visited places like Vienna or Berlin.
The Grand Tour continued until the middle of the 19th century. There was a pause during the Regency period because of the war with Napoleon. For that reason, it is not written about in Regency novels; but once Napoleon was defeated and exiled, the Grand Tour picked up again. Later, with the advent of trains, travel became easier and more common. Members of the middle class—wealthy but not necessarily part of the highest social ranks—began to go as well, and the Grand Tour gradually lost some of the prestige it once had.
My idea for this series was to create a character named Mr. Bridwell, an eccentric scholar who has three daughters. He is a widower, and because he has no sons to send on the Grand Tour, he decides to take his three daughters instead. His goal is to turn them into intellectual and artistic luminaries.
His daughters—Amy, Hannah, and Maryanne—are all very different. Each daughter has her own story set in a different location.
The book coming out in June, A Love Once Lost, focuses on the eldest daughter, Amy. She is a homebody and very different from the rest of her family. She isn’t interested in pursuing artistic or scholarly achievements. She simply wants to take care of a home, be married, and live a quiet life in England. She isn’t interested in languages, discoveries, or travel. Her story is the first in the series.
The second daughter is Hannah. She is very scholarly, much like her father—a true bluestocking (an often pejorative term to . Her story is set in Paris, and I’m actually writing it right now. It’s a lot of fun. Her goal is to be accepted into the literary salons and to be respected as someone with ideas of her own.
Then there is Maryanne, who is an artist. Her hopes are set on Rome, where she wants to study under a great master and improve her art.
That is the premise of the series. Each book is set in a different place: the second in Paris and the third in Rome.
For the first book, I chose to set the story in Spa. I honestly don’t know how I came up with that idea. I had never even heard of Spa before. It is a small city in what is now Belgium, but in the 1770s Belgium did not yet exist as a country. There were the Austrian Netherlands and the Dutch Republic. Spa itself was actually located within the Holy Roman Empire and was under the authority of the Prince-Bishop of Liège, a nearby city.
At some point, you reach a place as a writer where you want to tell a different kind of story and bring another era to life. It’s not that I’m going to stop writing Regency novels—in fact, I have a series in progress—but this Georgian setting has been incredibly fun to explore.
I’ll be talking more about it in the future because I’ve really been living in this world while doing the research and writing these stories. I’m very excited for you to read them.
If you pre-order the book through Haven, it is currently 40% off with free shipping. The pre-order also includes a couple of special goodies. I don’t have them yet, or I’d show you, but there will be a few extra surprises included with the book. It’s an amazing price, at $11.49 for a paperback with free shipping, plus the extras. Pre-order here!
I’ll be talking more about the book, the series, life in the Georgian era, and travel on the continent over the next few months.
If you have any questions about the Grand Tour, the series, or the era, feel free to leave them in the comments and I’ll do my best to respond. I’m not a historian, but I love research. I also don’t mind admitting when I make mistakes. I do spend a great deal of time researching, so hopefully any mistakes aren’t too glaring.
That’s it for today. I just wanted to share a little about what I’m working on, what I’m excited about, and my upcoming series.
I hope you have a great day!