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The Search for Authentic Travel in Early Twentieth-Century British Magazines University of Denver Digital Commons @ DU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Graduate Studies 6-1-2015 The Search for Authentic Travel in Early Twentieth-Century British Magazines Christina Bertrand Firebaugh University of Denver Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.du.edu/etd Part of the Literature in English, British Isles Commons Recommended Citation Firebaugh, Christina Bertrand, "The Search for Authentic Travel in Early Twentieth-Century British Magazines" (2015). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 200. https://digitalcommons.du.edu/etd/200 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate Studies at Digital Commons @ DU. It has been accepted for inclusion in Electronic Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons @ DU. For more information, please contact [email protected],[email protected]. THE SEARCH FOR AUTHENTIC TRAVEL IN EARLY TWENTIETH-CENTURY BRITISH MAGAZINES __________ A Dissertation Presented to the Faculty of Arts and Humanities University of Denver __________ In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy __________ by Christina Bertrand Firebaugh June 2015 Advisor: Eleanor McNees Author: Christina Bertrand Firebaugh Title: THE SEARCH FOR AUTHENTIC TRAVEL IN EARLY TWENTIETH- CENTURY BRITISH MAGAZINES Advisor: Eleanor McNees Degree Date: June 2015 Abstract Edwardian travel writing between roughly 1905 and 1914 serves as a bridge between the closing of the long Victorian period, the beginnings of modernism, and the changes to come in the twentieth century. The search for authentic experience characterizes travel writing in the Edwardian era. Significant cultural, technological, and social changes caused Edwardians to examine their perceptions about possibilities for authentic engagement with other places and people in their travels. As a result, Edwardian travel writers explore various methods by which to engage authentically with other cultures. Drawing on literary theory, anthropology, and cultural studies, this dissertation examines a number of periodicals published between 1905 and 1914 to suggest that while travel writers often displayed an anxiety of authenticity, they nevertheless developed and relied on multiple means of marking their experiences as authentic. Particular attention is paid to the magazine Travel & Exploration, published from 1909 to 1911. This magazine communicates a middlebrow perspective on travel values that frequently differs only slightly from the highbrow literary themes emerging in the same period. Like other aspects of the Edwardian period, travel writing exhibits Janus-faced qualities. Some travelers relied heavily on traditional means of authenticating experiences and fostering connections with a place. In particular, the persistence of long-established ii cultural and aesthetic values such as the picturesque and the sublime and the continued opposition between traveler and tourist speak to these entrenched categories. However, Edwardians were also rooted in the present and interested in the future, as evidenced by their unique temporal experiences of nostalgia and simultaneity and their creative reshaping of the categories of adventure and exploration. The Edwardians experienced significant change in their rendering of temporality, which appears in two major themes in the travel writing: nostalgia and simultaneity. At the same time, travelers expressed concern that opportunities for truly authentic travel were diminishing as the blank spaces on the map were filled in. This impending sense of closure prompted travelers to redefine authentic travel through engagement with adventure and exploration. While these thematic categories were not necessarily new, some Edwardians found them to be ideal options for finding authenticity in their travels. iii Acknowledgements I am deeply grateful to several people without whom this dissertation never would have been completed. I would like to thank Brian Kiteley, whose course in travel writing inspired and focused my academic interests. Adam Rovner provided me with structure, accountability, and clarity throughout this process. Eleanor McNees’s work ethic and drive have served as a model to me. Her extensive knowledge of and plain love for the literature and culture of this time period has been an inspiration. Peggy Keeran in the university library provided me with the tools needed for the research behind this dissertation and helped me understand the potential held in archival research. Roger Green, Dan Singer, Renee Chase, and Rob Gilmor shared hours of support, commiseration, and feedback on my writing. This dissertation is evidence of the support of my friends, family, and colleagues. I am grateful for the patience and understanding of my loved ones as I worked on this project over the past several years. I especially want to thank Dana Blackburn, Kari Firebaugh, Elizabeth Bertrand, and Barbara Bertrand for their dedication of time to allow me the ability to write. Most of all, I want to thank Kyle and Lea. This project has taken my attention and time away from my family. But the sacrifices Kyle made to support my completion of this goal are evidence of the most loving, supportive husband I could ever ask for. And to Lea, whose happy and gentle soul has helped me keep it all in perspective. iv Table of Contents Chapter One: Framing Early Twentieth-Century Travel Writing ...................................... 1 Edwardian self-consciousness ................................................................................ 3 Why travel magazines?........................................................................................... 6 Which magazines, and why? .................................................................................. 9 Literature review................................................................................................... 17 Middle-class England and middlebrow writing.................................................... 26 Themes of the following chapters......................................................................... 28 Chapter Two: The Search for Authentic Travel Experiences........................................... 31 Conceptual organization ....................................................................................... 34 Anthropology and authenticity ............................................................................. 35 Contemporary theorists......................................................................................... 38 The magazines ...................................................................................................... 57 Travel & Exploration............................................................................................ 65 Conclusion ............................................................................................................ 73 Chapter Three: The Persistence of the Picturesque and the Sublime ............................... 76 The sublime, the beautiful, and the picturesque: origins ...................................... 78 The picturesque and the sublime at the beginning of the twentieth century......... 86 The picturesque in the magazines......................................................................... 91 The sublime in the magazines............................................................................. 108 Photography........................................................................................................ 122 Sublime and picturesque as frameworks for authentic experience..................... 129 Chapter Four: Time, Nostalgia, and Simultaneity .......................................................... 138 On time ............................................................................................................... 141 On nostalgia ........................................................................................................ 147 On simultaneity................................................................................................... 158 Nostalgia and the past in the magazines ............................................................. 162 Simultaneity and the present in the magazines................................................... 172 The filled-in map ................................................................................................ 176 Conclusion .......................................................................................................... 183 Chapter Five: Exploration and Adventure: The Last Outpost for Authentic Travel? .... 185 Sport.................................................................................................................... 190 Mountaineering................................................................................................... 197 Wilderness and the outdoors............................................................................... 209 The remote areas still remaining......................................................................... 217 Polar expeditions................................................................................................. 227 Conclusion .......................................................................................................... 234 Conclusion: Looking Forward/Looking Back ................................................................ 236 v Works Cited ...................................................................................................................
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