OBSERVATIONS AND REFLECTIONS Made in the Course of a Journey through France and Italy 1786-1787 by Elizabeth Kidd M.A., University of Toronto, 1973 B.A., McGill University, 1966 Project Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts in the Graduate Liberal Studies Program Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences © Elizabeth Kidd SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY Summer 2017 Copyright in this work rests with the author. Please ensure that any reproduction or re-use is done in accordance with the relevant national copyright legislation. Approval Name: Elizabeth Kidd Degree: Master of Arts Title: Observations and Reflections Made in the Course of a Journey through France and Italy, 1786-1787 Examining Committee: Chair: Gary McCarron Associate Professor, School of Communication and Graduate Liberal Studies Program Stephen Duguid Senior Supervisor Professor, Department of Humanities and Graduate Liberal Studies Program Betty A. Schellenberg Supervisor Professor, Department of English Margaret Linley External Examiner Associate Professor, Department of English Date Defended/Approved: July 17, 2017 ii Abstract This paper is an historical fiction-- a travel journal written by Lady Aphrodite Macbain, an aristocratic English woman who records her observations and thoughts during her European tour in 1786-1787. Three voices tell this tale: Lady Aphrodite Macbain, a twenty-first century editor, Elizabeth Macbain, and the author of this text, Elizabeth Kidd. Elizabeth Macbain introduces the "found" journal, provides a biography of Lady Macbain and inserts historical background information on the eighteenth century, while Elizabeth Kidd (E.K.) provides background information on the cities visited, critical commentary and explanatory footnotes to the text. Included in the journal are the author's own botanical illustrations. Three primary issues relating to the eighteenth century will be addressed: the changing role of women in European society; the emerging interest in botanical sciences, and the role of the Grand Tour in promoting social change. Experiences of three main characters, Lady Macbain, her brother Andrew and her niece Belinda, offer opportunities to explore these issues from different perspectives. iii Acknowledgements I would like to thank the following for their inspiration, support and guidance in this project: Dave Chokroun Dr. Sasha Colby Dr. Stephen Duguid Jen Sookfong Lee Elizabeth Mancini Dr. Betty Schellenberg Professor Aldo Stern Lady Serenek Timeless iv Table of Contents Approval ........................................................................................................................................... ii Abstract ........................................................................................................................................... iii Acknowledgements ......................................................................................................................... iv Table of Contents ............................................................................................................................. v List of Botanical Illustrations ........................................................................................................... vi Foreword ........................................................................................................................................ vii Introduction ................................................................................................................... 1 Chapter 1. Biography of Aphrodite before 1786 ....................................................... 8 Chapter 2. Aphrodite’s Journal ............................................................................... 11 England ..................................................................................................................... 11 Lady Aphrodite's Journal: June 1786 ......................................................................... 20 France-Bologna ......................................................................................................... 20 BOLOGNA ................................................................................................................. 24 Lady Aphrodite's Journal: June - August 1786 ........................................................... 27 Lady Aphrodite's Journal: September 1786 ............................................................... 44 Lady Aphrodite's Journal: October 1786 .................................................................... 49 FLORENCE ............................................................................................................... 51 Lady Aphrodite's Journal: October 1786 .................................................................... 54 ROME ........................................................................................................................ 64 Lady Aphrodite's Journal: November 1786 - February 1787 ...................................... 69 Lady Aphrodite's Journal: March-April 1787 ............................................................... 93 Lady Aphrodite's Journal: April-May 1787 ................................................................ 101 References ............................................................................................................... 111 v List of Botanical Illustrations Figure 1 Coleus .............................................................................................. 11 Figure 2 Rosmarinus officinalis ...................................................................... 36 Figure 3 Thymus serpyllum ............................................................................ 36 Figure 4 Lavendulan stoechas ........................................................................ 36 Figure 5 Tilia bract ......................................................................................... 36 Figure 6 Skimmia japonica ............................................................................. 36 Figure 7 Strelitzia ........................................................................................... 42 Figure 8 Antherium ........................................................................................ 42 Figure 9 Delicata squash ................................................................................ 46 Figure 10 Giant White Himalayan Pine Cone .................................................. 50 Figure 11 Phalaenopsis orchid ........................................................................ 60 Figure 12 Ilex Aquifolia: Holly ......................................................................... 79 Figure 13 Citrus limon Osbeck ....................................................................... 82 Figure 14 Promise (budding fruit tree) .......................................................... 110 vi Foreword One warm evening, while I was sorting through a pile of boxes in the cool of my mother's basement and trying to dig out some of the Macbain family photographs, I came upon a small, worn, leather suitcase labelled "Family - archival." I was surprised as I thought that both my mother and grandmother had sorted most of the family's old birth and wedding certificates and other memorabilia, and placed them in chronological order in stacks of albums that now lay gathering dust in a cupboard in the spare room. I hauled the suitcase out, put it on the top of the work table and opened it gingerly, releasing a strong odour of lavender and moth balls. Under clothing yellow with age -- worn leather gloves, white lace handkerchiefs, a silk shawl, bed jackets and lace collars-- I found a large Manila envelope. Within it was a book with pages filled with cursive handwriting. The pages were bound together between sheets of vellum and oversewn with thread on one side. I also found some botanical images painted on thick rag paper and wrapped in linen that seemed as fresh as if they had been made yesterday. I realized what I held in my hand was extremely old. I was barely able to make out the title of the book, written in faded blue ink: “Observations and Reflections Made in the course of a Journey through France and Italy in 1786 and 1787.” It was signed "Lady Aphrodite Macbain." I have become the archivist in my family, updating the family tree and saving each photograph for posterity within the family on-line database. With this new discovery, I realized that our family history could be extended back four more generations. I could now link my great great granduncle, James Macbain, born in the early nineteenth century, with a relative living much farther back in the eighteenth century! Spurred on by this awareness, I spent many months first transcribing Aphrodite's journals and then conducting further research on the life and times of my ancient relative. This has meant learning more about the world in which she matured, such as the kind of education that was available to women of her social class, the ideas that were being discussed, and the socio-political backdrop to her life in England. Using this material, I have introduced the journal text by placing Aphrodite within the context of her time. I also provide the reader with her brief biography compiled from my many hours of research in London's Public Records Office. Elizabeth Macbain vii Introduction The Eighteenth Century: A time of major change Aphrodite lives at a time of major change that forms the backdrop of her narrative. Revolutionary new ideas