29. William Dalrymple, Selected Works (1989–1997)
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Jens Elze
Abstract
This chapter discusses the travel writing of William Dalrymple, focusing especially on the formal methods and literariness of his early works. While he uses eminently postmodern techniques that are associated with the fact that the authority of “travel writing was exhausted by modernity and globalization” (Burton 2014, 8), the many obstructions to his travels in his first book also question the validity of this narrative of exhaustion. Instead, they seem to suggest that modernity does not signify the ubiquitous increase in mobility with which it is often associated. This is contrasted with the on-site historical exploration of lost civilizations that have afforded higher degrees of mobility and interculturality in the distant past. By highlighting the greatness of those non-European cultures and central Asia’s relative cultural independence in the present, Dalrymple contributes to a postcolonial project of provincializing Europe, but also clashes with those strands of postcolonialism that seek to emphasize the lasting impact of the atrocities of colonialism and imperialism.
Abstract
This chapter discusses the travel writing of William Dalrymple, focusing especially on the formal methods and literariness of his early works. While he uses eminently postmodern techniques that are associated with the fact that the authority of “travel writing was exhausted by modernity and globalization” (Burton 2014, 8), the many obstructions to his travels in his first book also question the validity of this narrative of exhaustion. Instead, they seem to suggest that modernity does not signify the ubiquitous increase in mobility with which it is often associated. This is contrasted with the on-site historical exploration of lost civilizations that have afforded higher degrees of mobility and interculturality in the distant past. By highlighting the greatness of those non-European cultures and central Asia’s relative cultural independence in the present, Dalrymple contributes to a postcolonial project of provincializing Europe, but also clashes with those strands of postcolonialism that seek to emphasize the lasting impact of the atrocities of colonialism and imperialism.
Kapitel in diesem Buch
- Frontmatter I
- Editors’ Preface V
- Contents VII
- 0. Introduction 1
-
Part I: Systematic Questions
- 1. Periods of Travel Writing 11
- 2. Discourses of Travel Writing 31
- 3. Gender 55
- 4. Travel Writing and Translation 79
- 5. Practices and Purposes 95
- 6. Intertextual Travel Writing 113
- 7. The Market for Travel Writing 125
-
Part II: Close Readings
- 8. Walter Ralegh, The Discoverie of the Large, Rich, and Bewtiful Empyre of Guiana (1596) 145
- 9. Daniel Defoe, Robinson Crusoe (1719) and Tour Thro’ The Whole Island of Great Britain (1724–1727) 161
- 10. Samuel Johnson, A Voyage to Abyssinia (1735) 181
- 11. Thomas Pennant, Selected Works (1754–1804) 199
- 12. Lady Mary Wortley Montagu, The Turkish Embassy Letters (1763) 213
- 13. James Boswell, Journals and Letters from his Grand Tour (1764–1765) 231
- 14. James Cook and George Forster, Journals and Travel Reports from Their “Voyage Round the World” (1777) 247
- 15. Mary Wollstonecraft, Letters Written during a Short Residence in Sweden, Norway, and Denmark (1796) 267
- 16. Mariana Starke, Letters from Italy (1800) 297
- 17. Maria Graham, Travel Writing on India, Italy, Brazil, and Chile (1812–1824) 313
- 18. Lord Byron, Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage (1812–1818) 335
- 19. Anna Jameson, Selected Works (1826–1859) 357
- 20. Charles Darwin, The Voyage of the Beagle (1839) 373
- 21. Isabella Bird, Selected Works (1856–1899) 397
- 22. Mary Kingsley, Travels in West Africa (1897) and West African Studies (1899) 411
- 23. Vita Sackville-West, Selected Works (1926, 1928) 433
- 24. Robert Byron, The Road to Oxiana (1937) 449
- 25. Freya Stark, Selected Works (1938–1988) 467
- 26. W. H. Auden, Journey to a War (1939) 485
- 27. V. S. Naipaul, Selected Works (1962–1998) 501
- 28. Dervla Murphy, Selected Works (1965–2015) 515
- 29. William Dalrymple, Selected Works (1989–1997) 535
- 30. Nicholas Crane, Two Degrees West (1999) and Great British Journeys (2007) 555
- 31. Robert Macfarlane, The Wild Places (2007) 575
- Index of Names and Works 595
- Index of Subjects and Places 609
- List of Contributors 617
Kapitel in diesem Buch
- Frontmatter I
- Editors’ Preface V
- Contents VII
- 0. Introduction 1
-
Part I: Systematic Questions
- 1. Periods of Travel Writing 11
- 2. Discourses of Travel Writing 31
- 3. Gender 55
- 4. Travel Writing and Translation 79
- 5. Practices and Purposes 95
- 6. Intertextual Travel Writing 113
- 7. The Market for Travel Writing 125
-
Part II: Close Readings
- 8. Walter Ralegh, The Discoverie of the Large, Rich, and Bewtiful Empyre of Guiana (1596) 145
- 9. Daniel Defoe, Robinson Crusoe (1719) and Tour Thro’ The Whole Island of Great Britain (1724–1727) 161
- 10. Samuel Johnson, A Voyage to Abyssinia (1735) 181
- 11. Thomas Pennant, Selected Works (1754–1804) 199
- 12. Lady Mary Wortley Montagu, The Turkish Embassy Letters (1763) 213
- 13. James Boswell, Journals and Letters from his Grand Tour (1764–1765) 231
- 14. James Cook and George Forster, Journals and Travel Reports from Their “Voyage Round the World” (1777) 247
- 15. Mary Wollstonecraft, Letters Written during a Short Residence in Sweden, Norway, and Denmark (1796) 267
- 16. Mariana Starke, Letters from Italy (1800) 297
- 17. Maria Graham, Travel Writing on India, Italy, Brazil, and Chile (1812–1824) 313
- 18. Lord Byron, Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage (1812–1818) 335
- 19. Anna Jameson, Selected Works (1826–1859) 357
- 20. Charles Darwin, The Voyage of the Beagle (1839) 373
- 21. Isabella Bird, Selected Works (1856–1899) 397
- 22. Mary Kingsley, Travels in West Africa (1897) and West African Studies (1899) 411
- 23. Vita Sackville-West, Selected Works (1926, 1928) 433
- 24. Robert Byron, The Road to Oxiana (1937) 449
- 25. Freya Stark, Selected Works (1938–1988) 467
- 26. W. H. Auden, Journey to a War (1939) 485
- 27. V. S. Naipaul, Selected Works (1962–1998) 501
- 28. Dervla Murphy, Selected Works (1965–2015) 515
- 29. William Dalrymple, Selected Works (1989–1997) 535
- 30. Nicholas Crane, Two Degrees West (1999) and Great British Journeys (2007) 555
- 31. Robert Macfarlane, The Wild Places (2007) 575
- Index of Names and Works 595
- Index of Subjects and Places 609
- List of Contributors 617