The culture of borrowing: transnational influence in travel writing around 1800

Abstract

This article explores transnational recycling in travel writing at the turn of the nineteenth century. It traces the thematic and structural indebtedness of one travel work, John Quincy Adams's Letters on Silesia written during his diplomatic stint in Berlin (1797–1801). The historical record of Adams's reading, translation activity and personal encounters reveals a noteworthy and complicated set of influences on his creation of the work. The broader dissemination of Adams's work points to the ambiguous transnational reception of travel writing. Investigating the ways in which travel authors take inspiration from other sources and in turn provide novel perspectives for international readers highlights the complex and interconnected character of travel writing about foreign places and points to the transnational cycle of influence at the beginning of the modern era.