A Forgotten ‘Romantic’ Excursion: Joseph Blanco White's A Journey to the Trosacks in 1816

Abstract

In 1816 Joseph Blanco White visited the Trossachs, having travelled to Edinburgh as a member of the household of Lord and Lady Holland. Soon afterwards he wrote A Journey to the Trosacks in 1816, a short but fascinating account of his trip which has remained unpublished until now. Lucidly penned, this autograph text shows admiration for the Scottish wilderness and interest in technological feats such as the steamboat that he takes on the Firth of Forth, an absolute novelty at the time. Observations on Highlands customs and language, and literary allusions to Sterne, Scott, Johnson and Boswell add to the interest of this forgotten piece, as do remarks about John Murray the publisher and Dugald Stewart the philosopher. The aim of this article is to present for the first time this work as a document of literary and cultural importance, given the renewed interest of Romantic era scholarship in travel writing and in Blanco White, the most important Spanish cultural mediator in Britain during the first decades of the 19th century.