French Literature Reviews - 2026

An Eccentric Passion. English Visits
Comparative and World Literature

An Eccentric Passion. English Visits

Christine Jordis,

Seuil, 2004, "Le don des langues" series, 433 p., 25 €.

Publisher's overview:

From Dover, where the first Roman road began, to Grasmere far to the north in the Lake District, Christine Jordis traces a journey across the map of England and back through time. As a tourist, she explores landscapes, homes, and castles, stopping in London, Sheffield, York, and Dorchester, observing a garden, a lake, a suburban no man's land, or a halo of light at night in a northern city. As a scholar, she uncovers ancient sites and England's mysterious rituals, seemingly crossing paths with Emily Brontë, Wordsworth, Coleridge, Jane Austen, Trollope, Blake, and Edmund Burke... lifelong companions. As a kindred spirit, she is moved, filled with wonder, and provoked to reflection. As a witness, she examines a new England—the "third nation" of outcasts, eccentrics, and the marginalized. Written with the ease born of a lifetime of cultivated passions, this panorama is as personal as it is informative. Through the eyes of the painters, writers, poets, and philosophers who have inhabited the island, the traveler explores the multifaceted, shifting, and eternal aspects of England.

This work belongs to a rich tradition of travel writing and cultural reflection that blends geographical exploration with literary biography and historical inquiry. Throughout the centuries, foreign observers and native writers alike have sought to capture the elusive spirit of England through its distinctive landscapes, stately homes, and shifting social fabric. By intertwining personal travel with the insights of classic artists and thinkers, the volume engages with a long-standing fascination concerning the interplay between national identity, topography, and creative expression in British culture.

Christine Jordis traces a route across various English regions while reflecting on landscapes, historical sites, and canonical literary figures such as Jane Austen, William Wordsworth, and Emily Brontë. The text also turns its attention toward marginalized figures and social outcasts, offering a portrait of the country that combines scholarly observation with personal response. Readers interested in literary journeys, cultural geography, and French perspectives on British literature may find this publication relevant.