Description
Book SynopsisA masterpiece of ethnographic observation on seventeenth-century Spain. While mysteries remain in her biography, Madame d’Aulnoy’s tremendous literary talent is finally being rediscovered. Marie-Catherine Le Jumel de Barneville, baronne d’Aulnoy (1652–1705) was the first Frenchwoman to write, publicize, and publish the account of her travels into Spain as an independent woman. Considered the authority on Spain for nearly two centuries until historiographers labeled them as disreputable,
Travels into Spain can now be appreciated for its ironic gaze on realities concealed from male travelers and Madame d’Aulnoy’s unabashedly female and often playful voice. Her writing casts a unique light on gender relations, the condition of women, cultural biases, national rivalries, and religious superstitions at a critical time in early modern cultural and literary history. The first modern translation of
Travels into Spain, this book situates Madame d’Aulnoy’s account in its historical context.
Travels into Spain is a masterpiece of ethnographic observation, expressing a woman’s view on gender relations, marriage, religion, fashion, food, bullfights, and the Inquisition.
Trade Review"The triple-decker, this edition of which Verdier has superlatively translated, edited and annotated, was 'the most important source of information on Spain for two centuries.' It remains a gripping account of early-modern Spain and the female gaze. D’Aulnoy and one of her daughters crossed the border from France on a litter, a kind of sedan chair. . . . Verdier has cut many pages of borrowed historical material, summarizing between sections in italics. Crucially, she leaves in the soft tissue of history – the perishable bits. In her personal observations the
baronne has an eye for detail and a taste for the idiosyncratic: in Burgos the reader sees a pet monkey sharing the archbishop’s tobacco." -- Sara Wheeler * Times Literary Supplement *
Table of ContentsAcknowledgments
Illustrations
Introduction
Letters from Spain
Dedication
To the Reader
First Letter: February 20, 1679 from San Sebastián
Second Letter: February 24, 1679 from Vitoria
Third Letter: February 27, from Burgos
Fourth Letter: March 5, 1679, from Lerma
Fifth Letter: March 9, 1679, from Aranda de Duero
Sixth Letter: March 13, 1679, from Buitrago
Seventh Letter: March 15, 1679, from San Augustín
Eighth Letter: March 28, 1679, from Madrid
Ninth Letter: April 27, 1679, from Madrid
Tenth Letter: May 29, 1679, from Madrid
Eleventh Letter: June 27, 1679, from Madrid
Twelfth Letter: July 25, 1679, from Madrid
Thirteenth Letter: August 30, 1679, from Madrid
Fourteenth Letter: September 30, 1679, from Madrid
Fifteenth Letter: September 28, 1680, from Madrid
Bibliography
Index
