Samuel-s Travels Here

Samuel’s Travels , ed. J. H. Prynne (Oxford UP, 2005), which includes the variant endings and a map of Samuel’s route.

Nearly every traveler Samuel meets is performing a role. The book probes whether genuine human connection is possible when everyone is, in Samuel’s words, “a postilion on the road of self-regard.” Samuel-s Travels

Samuel’s Travels (attrib. various authors; most complete MS c. 1789) is an emblematic picaresque narrative from the late eighteenth century that charts the physical and moral journey of its titular protagonist, Samuel Ashworth. Though less widely known than the major novels of the period, the work offers a compelling synthesis of the travelogue, the sentimental novel, and early social criticism. Synopsis The narrative begins in the rural hamlet of Lower Wick, where young Samuel, the orphaned son of a disgraced clergyman, sets out for London after the death of his last remaining relative. His stated aim is “to see the measure of men and the mettle of the world.” The book unfolds as a series of episodic encounters, each centered on a different mode of travel: a stagecoach to Bristol, a merchant vessel to Lisbon, a river barge along the Rhine, and finally a walking tour through the Swiss cantons. Samuel’s Travels , ed