Life of Longfellow: Outré-Mer, A Travelogue of Europe in the early Nineteenth Century

“The world is a kind of book, in which he, who has seen his own country only, has read but one page…”. Longfellow

What is a Travelogue?

A travelogue is basically a description of one’s travels. YouTube, WordPress, TikTok, Facebook, and Instagram are inundated with travelogues. Many influencers make a living today by posting travelogues for these sites and being paid for sponsorship.

Imagine finding a travelogue today WITHOUT photos—the descriptions must be in words and must ignite one’s imagination.  Would you still read it?

Outre-Mer: A Pilgrimage Beyond the Sea

In 1831, Longfellow created one of the first “travelogues” or “travel sketches” , Outre-Mer: A Pilgrimage Beyond the Sea, which depicts distinctive features of each European country Longfellow visited. Photography was new at this time so it was unrealistic to expect photos. According to Thomas H. Pauly in his article “Outre-Mer and Longfellow’s Quest for a Career”, the original intent of Longfellow to travel around Europe and subsequently publish his travel sketches of his experiences was to show the value of his profession as a teacher of European languages and literature (New England Quarterly, 32). This “literary” experience would help him prepare his duties as Bowdoin’s first professor of modern languages and make him a better teacher. I love this.

Longfellow set out to provide something different in his travelogues. He wanted to break away from conventional guidebook information in which the account resembles the speech of a tour director with its disjointed sequence and presumed authority (38). Longfellow had scolded one of his colleagues, Slidell, who had previously traveled and written travel sketches of his trip to Spain saying that his writings did not provide useful and valuable information; “only dreamy sensations and vague recollections of a sunny land” (Pauly, 33).

It took Longfellow over six years to complete his travelogue which is understandable as he traveled all through Europe in the early 1800’s. In Outre-Mer, Longfellow incorporated diverse materials such as original letters, sketches he wrote for New England Magazine, two scholarly essays he contributed to North American Review, and a variety of translations (31).

According to Pauly, Longfellow had no “preordained plan” but rather determined his literary course on the basis of what he found himself (31). This is one reason that Outre-Mer is so compelling to me; it is pure, raw, spontaneous, and personal.

Language Acquisition while traveling abroad

Longfellow believed it was important to learn the languages of the places in Europe he would visit while writing Outre-Mer:

“The mere acquisition of a language is not the ultimate object…it will be my aim not only to teach the turns and idioms of a language, but to direct the student in his researches into the literature of those nations whose language he is studying”(37).

He had to take into consideration, of course, that this might not appeal to his readers back in America, which proved to be correct. After submitting an article from his Outre Mer series which included French translation and pedagogical texts, his subscriptions decreased. I am so glad he was determined to continue this course despite the unfavorable reception back home.

Longfellow decided to try another tack—if educated American readers had been put off by his scholarly discussions of Europe languages, perhaps he could interest them in Europe itself. He had freedom to introduce his readers to the Europe he had toured and studied—the language, culture, history, dress, and lifestyle.

First Responses Abroad—please take this journey with me!

Geoffrey Crayon, in his article “The Author’s Account of Himself”, explains that Longfellow longed to “escape America’s commonplace realities and lose himself in the shadowy grandeurs” by presenting his first responses to particular experiences(41).

Longfellow opens his arrival in Paris with a colorful stage-coach ride from Le Havre, Normandy, to Paris and claimed, “I felt that I was in a prosperous, hospitable, and happy land”. He then narrates his elation and since of easy adjustment in describing different elements of the landscape which “lie open to the eye of the traveler, and…to welcome him with open arms”(1,14).

My First Responses Abroad!

I still vividly remember having a visceral reaction to my first responses in Europe to seeing: the Eiffel Tower; the Louvre (in 1976, Pre-Pyramid!); the cliffs at Ètretat; Hallstatt, Père La Chaise cemetery, the Cathedrals of Notre Dame, Paris, Chartres, Rouen, Saint-Germain des Pres; paintings of Van Gogh, Monet, Renoir, Dürer, da Vinci; all of Prague; the Galerie of Paleontology; there are so many unforgettable “first responses” that I could go on and on. I am constantly trying to recreate these special feelings and physical responses of elation on return trips, to no avail! As you are reading this, what things come to your mind?

The Characters

One striking feature of Outre-Mer is the unusual prevalence of character sketches. To Longfellow, French society proves as accommodating as the landscape. His preference for humanity over scenery and landmarks involved awareness of these “Individual human beings” who were just living their lives (44) !

This is a wonderful aspect of traveling abroad for me—examining the social aspects, dress, language, gastronomy, architecture, etc.  of each new culture and engaging with the “individual human beings”, just living their lives.

Work Cited

Henry W. Longfellow. Outre-Mer: A Pilgrimage Beyond the Sea. Philadelphia: McKay Publisher. 1892.

Eric S. Robertson. Life of Longfellow. London; Walter Scott 1887