Lilian Bell (1867–1929)

Bell displays a wry sense of humor, possibly unusual for a female travel writer of her time. She and her sister take this trip from their Chicago home as a sort of rite of passage for young ladies of some means (she gets married a few years after the trip). Most interesting are her comments on her time in Russia, which she felt was the friendliest country of the peoples she met. This trip and the book, ended with the beginning of the Spanish American War in 1898. She shows some spunk in her comments on how travel to the typical tourist destinations of a European tour bored her (Naples), but was quite taken by the affect the Acropolis had on her. This slice of Victorian life is worth the quick read.… (altro)