A Scandalous Diary: The Grand Tours of Anna Jameson (1794 – 1860) – Judy Stove
Anna Jameson (1794-1860) worked as a young governess in the years directly after Austen’s death. Readers of Austen will know that the role of governess could be a daunting prospect, as it was for Jane Fairfax in Emma: it represented thankless drudgery around the clock, coupled with ambiguous social status. Yet there could be compensations. In 1821 Anna Jameson had the opportunity – otherwise out of reach for someone of her background – to travel to Italy with her employer’s family on the established Grand Tour route. The journey provided the inspiration for her first novel, published anonymously in 1826: Diary of an Ennuyée, which created a sensation.