'A happy holiday' : English Canadians and transatlantic tourism, 1870-1930 / Cecilia Morgan.

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

A Happy Holiday argues that overseas tourism offered people the chance to explore questions of identity during this period, a time in which issues such as gender, nation, and empire were the subject of much public debate and discussion.

Reviews provided by Syndetics

CHOICE Review

This fine volume addresses the modern origins of a phenomenon that, because of current political, economic, and technological factors, is being reevaluated: tourism. The period 1870-1930 is the age when the elite's grand tour was becoming transformed into organized middle-class tourism, with a major cusp in WW I. Morgan (Toronto) addresses English Canadians' experiences of the novel phenomenon of global travel and their reactions to site/sightseeing. But there is an important subtext: how travel affects class, gender, national, imperial, and even racial identities. Appropriately, the author uses travelers' diaries to explore colonial reflexive commentary on places, people, and social values and practices in the imperial metropoles. These are complemented by other primary sources: letters, newspapers, periodicals, and published travelogues. In this way, Morgan informs readers on two fronts: the evolution and structure of an emerging tourist industry, and its role in "forging and sharpening middle-class identities and perceptions." (And also, one is tempted to say, middle-class and national prejudices.) A fine array of magazine lithographs and early photographs accompany the well-referenced and indexed text. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Most levels/libraries. B. Osborne Queen's University at Kingston