First published 2016
Nathaniel Hawthorne records his observations of English society during his time abroad. He watches passengers aboard river boats, noting how English women display a particular coarseness and freedom that differs markedly from American behavior. Men and women act without the restraints that would make them objects of ridicule back home. They embrace their own forms of enjoyment without supporting false gentility. Girls dance on packed decks to poor music played by a small band that travels up and down the river on each boat journey. At voyage's end, a man circulates with an upturned bugle, collecting charitable coins from passengers. Hawthorne contributes a silver fourpence to this collection. These notebooks capture his direct encounters with English customs and social behavior, revealing cultural differences through specific moments and interactions rather than broad generalizations.
Genres: english-literature, american, non-fiction, biography-memoir, 19th-century, cultural
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: fish-out-of-water
Setting: England
Period: 19th-century
394 pages · Paperback · CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform