London’s Parks, Suburbs and Environs: The English Countryside through the Eyes of French Visitors (1814–1914)

Abstract

During the long nineteenth century (1814–1914), most French travellers formed their opinion about the English countryside when they visited London and its environs. In fact, central parks, middle-class suburbs and the Thames valley upstream from London shared the same characteristics. The ‘picturesque’ landscapes there contrasted sharply with the ‘sublime’ banks of the industrial and commercial Thames or the hideous sights of inner-city slums. Inspired by nationalistic, class-bound or aesthetic motives, French writers, painters, engravers and photographers found an ideal of rural beauty in this part of England akin to present-day British appreciation of a rural environment.