William Wordsworth and the Invention of Tourism, 1820-1900 Saeko Yoshikawa Author

In her study of the opening of the English Lake District to mass tourism, Saeko Yoshikawa examines William Wordsworthâ s role in the rise and development of the region as a popular destination. For the middle classes on holiday, guidebooks not only offered practical information, but they also provided a fresh motive and a new model of appreciation by associating writers with places. The nineteenth century saw the invention of Robert Burnsâ s and Walter Scottâ s Borders, Shakespeareâ s Stratford, and the Brontë Country as holiday locales for the middle classes. Investigating the international cult of Wordsworthian tourism, Yoshikawa shows both how Wordsworthâ s public celebrity was constructed through the tourist industry and how the cultural identity of the Lake District was influenced by the poetâ s presence and works. Informed by extensive archival work, her book provides an original case study of the contributions of Romantic writers to the invention of middle-class tourism and the part guidebooks played in promoting the popular reputations of authors.