Home Literary Studies 17. Maria Graham, Travel Writing on India, Italy, Brazil, and Chile (1812–1824)
Chapter
Licensed
Unlicensed Requires Authentication

17. Maria Graham, Travel Writing on India, Italy, Brazil, and Chile (1812–1824)

  • Claudia Georgi
Become an author with De Gruyter Brill
Explore this Subject How to publish with us
Handbook of British Travel Writing
This chapter is in the book Handbook of British Travel Writing

Abstract

Maria Graham’s Indian, Italian, Brazilian, and Chilean travelogues share three main features: firstly, the negotiation of her role as a female travel writer and her awareness of the restrictions imposed on her by her gender; secondly, her thirst for knowledge and her self-fashioning as an expert in disciplines as diverse as Orientalism, botany, geology, and politics; and thirdly, her subtle enmeshment in England’s imperial schemes. Her writing is simultaneously influenced by gendered, scholarly, and imperial discourses prevalent in the early nineteenth century. As yet, there is no comprehensive survey of Graham’s entire travel writing that would trace the development of her style, narrative persona, or recurrent topics. While most studies focus on her South American journals that are usually considered as her most important contribution to the field of travel writing, fewer single out her Indian or Italian travelogues. This comparative analysis of her five travelogues shows how key aspects evolve throughout her oeuvre and how she develops the characteristic style and narrative persona that eventually emerge in her Brazilian and Chilean journals.

Abstract

Maria Graham’s Indian, Italian, Brazilian, and Chilean travelogues share three main features: firstly, the negotiation of her role as a female travel writer and her awareness of the restrictions imposed on her by her gender; secondly, her thirst for knowledge and her self-fashioning as an expert in disciplines as diverse as Orientalism, botany, geology, and politics; and thirdly, her subtle enmeshment in England’s imperial schemes. Her writing is simultaneously influenced by gendered, scholarly, and imperial discourses prevalent in the early nineteenth century. As yet, there is no comprehensive survey of Graham’s entire travel writing that would trace the development of her style, narrative persona, or recurrent topics. While most studies focus on her South American journals that are usually considered as her most important contribution to the field of travel writing, fewer single out her Indian or Italian travelogues. This comparative analysis of her five travelogues shows how key aspects evolve throughout her oeuvre and how she develops the characteristic style and narrative persona that eventually emerge in her Brazilian and Chilean journals.

Chapters in this book

  1. Frontmatter I
  2. Editors’ Preface V
  3. Contents VII
  4. 0. Introduction 1
  5. Part I: Systematic Questions
  6. 1. Periods of Travel Writing 11
  7. 2. Discourses of Travel Writing 31
  8. 3. Gender 55
  9. 4. Travel Writing and Translation 79
  10. 5. Practices and Purposes 95
  11. 6. Intertextual Travel Writing 113
  12. 7. The Market for Travel Writing 125
  13. Part II: Close Readings
  14. 8. Walter Ralegh, The Discoverie of the Large, Rich, and Bewtiful Empyre of Guiana (1596) 145
  15. 9. Daniel Defoe, Robinson Crusoe (1719) and Tour Thro’ The Whole Island of Great Britain (1724–1727) 161
  16. 10. Samuel Johnson, A Voyage to Abyssinia (1735) 181
  17. 11. Thomas Pennant, Selected Works (1754–1804) 199
  18. 12. Lady Mary Wortley Montagu, The Turkish Embassy Letters (1763) 213
  19. 13. James Boswell, Journals and Letters from his Grand Tour (1764–1765) 231
  20. 14. James Cook and George Forster, Journals and Travel Reports from Their “Voyage Round the World” (1777) 247
  21. 15. Mary Wollstonecraft, Letters Written during a Short Residence in Sweden, Norway, and Denmark (1796) 267
  22. 16. Mariana Starke, Letters from Italy (1800) 297
  23. 17. Maria Graham, Travel Writing on India, Italy, Brazil, and Chile (1812–1824) 313
  24. 18. Lord Byron, Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage (1812–1818) 335
  25. 19. Anna Jameson, Selected Works (1826–1859) 357
  26. 20. Charles Darwin, The Voyage of the Beagle (1839) 373
  27. 21. Isabella Bird, Selected Works (1856–1899) 397
  28. 22. Mary Kingsley, Travels in West Africa (1897) and West African Studies (1899) 411
  29. 23. Vita Sackville-West, Selected Works (1926, 1928) 433
  30. 24. Robert Byron, The Road to Oxiana (1937) 449
  31. 25. Freya Stark, Selected Works (1938–1988) 467
  32. 26. W. H. Auden, Journey to a War (1939) 485
  33. 27. V. S. Naipaul, Selected Works (1962–1998) 501
  34. 28. Dervla Murphy, Selected Works (1965–2015) 515
  35. 29. William Dalrymple, Selected Works (1989–1997) 535
  36. 30. Nicholas Crane, Two Degrees West (1999) and Great British Journeys (2007) 555
  37. 31. Robert Macfarlane, The Wild Places (2007) 575
  38. Index of Names and Works 595
  39. Index of Subjects and Places 609
  40. List of Contributors 617
https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110498974-018

Chapters in this book

  1. Frontmatter I
  2. Editors’ Preface V
  3. Contents VII
  4. 0. Introduction 1
  5. Part I: Systematic Questions
  6. 1. Periods of Travel Writing 11
  7. 2. Discourses of Travel Writing 31
  8. 3. Gender 55
  9. 4. Travel Writing and Translation 79
  10. 5. Practices and Purposes 95
  11. 6. Intertextual Travel Writing 113
  12. 7. The Market for Travel Writing 125
  13. Part II: Close Readings
  14. 8. Walter Ralegh, The Discoverie of the Large, Rich, and Bewtiful Empyre of Guiana (1596) 145
  15. 9. Daniel Defoe, Robinson Crusoe (1719) and Tour Thro’ The Whole Island of Great Britain (1724–1727) 161
  16. 10. Samuel Johnson, A Voyage to Abyssinia (1735) 181
  17. 11. Thomas Pennant, Selected Works (1754–1804) 199
  18. 12. Lady Mary Wortley Montagu, The Turkish Embassy Letters (1763) 213
  19. 13. James Boswell, Journals and Letters from his Grand Tour (1764–1765) 231
  20. 14. James Cook and George Forster, Journals and Travel Reports from Their “Voyage Round the World” (1777) 247
  21. 15. Mary Wollstonecraft, Letters Written during a Short Residence in Sweden, Norway, and Denmark (1796) 267
  22. 16. Mariana Starke, Letters from Italy (1800) 297
  23. 17. Maria Graham, Travel Writing on India, Italy, Brazil, and Chile (1812–1824) 313
  24. 18. Lord Byron, Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage (1812–1818) 335
  25. 19. Anna Jameson, Selected Works (1826–1859) 357
  26. 20. Charles Darwin, The Voyage of the Beagle (1839) 373
  27. 21. Isabella Bird, Selected Works (1856–1899) 397
  28. 22. Mary Kingsley, Travels in West Africa (1897) and West African Studies (1899) 411
  29. 23. Vita Sackville-West, Selected Works (1926, 1928) 433
  30. 24. Robert Byron, The Road to Oxiana (1937) 449
  31. 25. Freya Stark, Selected Works (1938–1988) 467
  32. 26. W. H. Auden, Journey to a War (1939) 485
  33. 27. V. S. Naipaul, Selected Works (1962–1998) 501
  34. 28. Dervla Murphy, Selected Works (1965–2015) 515
  35. 29. William Dalrymple, Selected Works (1989–1997) 535
  36. 30. Nicholas Crane, Two Degrees West (1999) and Great British Journeys (2007) 555
  37. 31. Robert Macfarlane, The Wild Places (2007) 575
  38. Index of Names and Works 595
  39. Index of Subjects and Places 609
  40. List of Contributors 617
Sign up now to receive a 20% welcome discount
Institutional Access
How does access work?
Have an idea on how to improve our website?
Please write us.
© 2025 De Gruyter Brill
Downloaded on 3.10.2025 from https://www.degruyterbrill.com/document/doi/10.1515/9783110498974-018/html?lang=en
Scroll to top button