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This work is a travelogue that records three summer tours of Normandy in the years 1815, 1818 and 1819, with the bulk of the material drawn from the author’s 1818 expedition. Presented as a series of letters, the narrative blends Turner’s own observations with quotations from companions’ journals and the notes of his friend Mr. Cohen, a fellow explorer of the same region. The opening letter describes the arrival at Dieppe, the striking white cliffs, the bustling harbor and the contrast between English and French customs, while the extensive contents list promises detailed accounts of castles, churches, monasteries and civic architecture, accompanied by a rich set of illustrative plates. Turner explicitly frames the book as a guide for those interested in architectural antiquities, acknowledging the limits of his expertise but offering his remarks as aid to future travelers.
The voice is that of an early‑19th‑century gentleman‑scholar, earnest and descriptive, with a measured, sometimes digressive style typical of the period’s epistolary travel literature. Turner’s prose mixes personal anecdote, factual reportage and occasional moral reflection, all filtered through a distinctly English perspective on French society and monuments. Readers who relish historic travel writing, enjoy detailed architectural description, or have an interest in the post‑Napoleonic cultural landscape of Normandy will find the book rewarding, while those seeking a fast‑paced narrative may prefer more concise accounts.
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ILLUSTRATED WITH NUMEROUS ENGRAVINGS.
VOL. I.
LONDON: 1820.
PREFACE.
The observations which form the basis of the following letters, were collected during three successive tours in Normandy, in the summers of 1815, 1818, and 1819; but chiefly in the second of these years. Where I have not depended upon my own remarks, I have endeavored, as far as appeared practicable and without tedious minuteness, to quote my authorities for facts; and I believe that I have done so in most instances, except indeed where I have borrowed from the journals of the companions of my tours,--the nearest and dearest of my connections,--or from that of my friend, Mr. Cohen, who, at almost the same time, travelled through a great part of Normandy, pursuing also very similar objects of inquiry. The materials obtained from these sources, it has been impossible to separate from my own; and, interwoven as they are with the rest of the text, it is only in my power to acknowledge, in these general terms, the assistance which I have thus received.--We were proceeding in 1818, to the southern and western districts of Normandy, when a domestic calamity compelled me to return to England. The tour was consequently abridged, and many places of note remained unvisited by us.
My narrative is principally addressed to those readers who find pleasure in the investigation of architectural antiquity. Without the slightest pretensions to the character either of an architect or of an antiquarian, engaged in other avocations and employed in other studies, I am but too conscious of my inability to do justice to the subject. Yet my remarks may at least assist the future traveller, by pointing out such objects as are interesting, either on account of their antiquity or their architectural worth. This information is not to be obtained from the French, who have habitually neglected the investigation of their national monuments. I doubt, however, whether I should have ventured upon publication, if those who have always accompanied me both at home and abroad, had not produced the illustrations which constitute the principal value of my volumes. Of the merits of these illustrations I must not be allowed to speak; but it may be permitted me to observe, that the fine arts afford the only mode of exerting the talents of woman, which does not violate the spirit of the precept which the greatest historian of antiquity has ascribed to the greatest of her heroes--
[English. Greek in Original] "Great will be your glory in not falling short of your natural character; and greatest will be hers who is least talked of among the men whether for good or for bad." Thucydides' Historiae. (Book 2, Chapter 45, Paragraph 2, Verses 3-5.)
DAWSON TURNER.
YARMOUTH, _13th August_1820.
CONTENTS.
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