The Northern Utopia: British Perceptions of Norway in the Nineteenth CenturyIn the nineteenth century, the ancient 'filial tie' between Britain and Norway was rediscovered by a booming tourist industry which took thousands across the North Sea to see the wonders of the fjords, the fjelds, and the beauties of the North Cape. This illustrated volume, for the first time, collects together vivid - and predominantly first-hand - impressions of the country recorded by nearly two hundred British travellers and other commentators, including Thomas Malthus, Charlotte Brontë, Lord Tennyson, and William Gladstone. In a rich selection of travel writing, fiction, poetry, journalism, political speeches, and art, Norway emerges as a refreshingly natural utopia, happily free from her imperial neighbour's increasing problems with the side-effects of industrialisation. This is a fascinating examination of the people, institutions, customs, language and environment of Norway seen through the eyes of the British. Using the tools of literary and historical scholarship, Fjågesund and Symes set these perceptions in their nineteenth-century context, throwing light on such issues as progress, art and aesthetics, democracy, religion, nationhood, race, class, and gender, all of which occupied Europe at the time. The Northern Utopia will be of particular interest to students of British and Scandinavian cultural history, literature and travel writing. It will also enthral all those who love Norway. |
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aesthetic appears Arctic beauty became Bergen Brassey Britain British travellers Britons Cambridge cataracts characteristics Charles Christiania civilisation coast connected cultural Dates unknown decades Denmark describes early Edinburgh edition Edward Daniel Clarke eighteenth century England English Europe Fjords Forester George Gladstone Henry History of Norway ibid Illustrations interesting James Logie Robertson John journey Lady Landor Lapland later literary literature London Lord Mary Mary Wollstonecraft modern Moskstraumen mountains nature nineteenth century Norse North Cape Northern Norway's Norwegian Norwegian landscape Norwegian women novel Oxford picturesque poem poet political pseud published reader Richard Bentley Robert rocks Romantic Sami Samuel Laing Scandinavia Scandinavian scene scenery seems seen social society Sognefjorden solitary sublime summer Sweden Telemark Thomas Tønsberg Tour tourist travel accounts travel literature travel writers travelled in Norway travelogues University Press Victorian Viking visited Norway vols Vøringsfossen Voyage waterfalls whilst wild William Wollstonecraft 1987 Wood wrote