A book of exploration and discovery, celebrating the 175th anniversary of The London Library
I hum to myself as I stand looking up at the sky, filled to overflowing with the joy of liberty
As the British Empire grew, so too did the scope and range of travel writing. From young men seeking outdoor adventure to intrepid ladies of a certain age discovering other cultures, Victorian explorers were going further and writing more.
But for Lady Colin Campbell—that infamous almost-divorcee with “the unbridled lust of a Messalina and the indelicate readiness of a common harlot”—travel writing was no sterile, fact-driven pursuit. Her adventures up and down European mountains, through unsavoury and unexpected parts of London, by means of delayed train or unstable bicycle, are more than a guidebook. These highly personal travelling tales are the “Trip Advisor” tours of Victorian Britain, the holiday newsletters of the nineteenth century, and the blog posts of another age.
A Woman’s Walks is part of “Found on the Shelves”, published with The London Library. The books in this series have been chosen to give a fascinating insight into the treasures that can be found while browsing in The London Library. Now celebrating its 175th anniversary, with over seventeen miles of shelving and more than a million books, The London Library has become an unrivalled archive of the modes, manners and thoughts of each generation which has helped to form it.
