A Journey Around My Room (Hesperus Classics) [Paperback]

'It's extraordinarily funny' - Independent on Sunday De Maistre... found the utmost strangeness in himself and the things he had taken for granted.' The Times

'It's extraordinarily funny'

What do you do when you find yourself imprisoned in your room for six weeks? Xavier de Maistre, a twenty-seven-year-old Frenchman found himself in this uneasy situation when he was arrested in Turin after a duel, in the Spring of 1790. But even confined to his room, as he was, with only a butler and a dog for company, de Maistre managed to fill his time by embarking on a journey around his bedroom, later writing an account of what he had seen, and eight years later, making a second journey, this time travelling at night, and making it as far as the window ledge. Whether travelling from his bed to his sofa, or even to his mirror, he wears his 'travelling outfit', consisting of his favourite pink and blue pyjamas. Out of his forced reclusion comes a delightful fantasy, and de Maistre's new take on the travel literature of the past went on to inspire many future writers, such as Marcel Proust. 'De Maistre's work springs from a profound and suggestive insight: that the pleasure we derive from journeys is perhaps dependent more on the mindset with which we travel than on the destination we travel to. If only we could apply a travelling mindset to our own locales, we might find these places becoming no less interesting than the high mountain passes and jungles of South America' - From the Foreword by Alain de Botton 'De Maistre...found the utmost strangeness in himself and the things he had taken for granted.' The Times

‘De Maistre’s work springs from a profound and suggestive insight: that the pleasure we derive from journeys is perhaps dependent more on the mindset with which we travel than on the destination we travel to. If only we could apply a travelling mindset to our own locales, we might find these places becoming no less interesting than the high mountain passes and jungles of South America’ - From the Foreword by Alain de Botton

When he finds himself imprisoned in his room for six weeks, with only his butler and his dog to keep him company, Xavier de Maistre decides to embark upon one of the most ambitious travels of all time: a journey around his bedroom. And then, some years later, he repeats the journey, this time travelling at night.

The two resulting works – ‘Journey around my Room’ and ‘Nocturnal Expedition around my Room’ – form a delightful fantasy, and are among the finest pieces of writing of the nineteenth century. In an inspired conceit, De Maistre offers a new take on the travel literature of his day, negating the necessity for exotic travel, since, from his various different vantage points around his room, he can learn to view – and value – the world in an entirely new way.
Immensely popular when it was first published, Journey around my Room went on to inspire many subsequent writers, including the likes of Marcel Proust and Victor Hugo.

‘Millions of people who, before me, had never dared to travel, others who had not been able to travel, and still more who had not even thought of travelling, will now be able to follow my example.’

Xavier de Maistre (1763-1852) was a military man, who supplemented his army career with short works of fiction.

In the spring of 1790, a twenty seven year old Frenchman, Xavier de Maistre, undertook a journey around his bedroom, later entitling the account of what he had seen "A Journey around my Room". Gratified by his experiences, in 1798, de Maistre undertook a second journey. This time, he travelled by night and ventured out as far as the window ledge, later entitling his account "A Nocturnal Expedition around my Room".

Xavier de Maistre was born in 1763 in the picturesque town of Chambéry at the foot of the French Alps. He was of an intense, romantic nature, was fond of reading, especially Montaigne, Pascal and Rousseau and of paintings, especially Dutch and French domestic scenes. At the age of 23, de Maistre became fascinated by aeronautics. Etienne Montgolfier had, three years before, achieved international renown by constructing a balloon that flew for eight minutes above the royal palace at Versailles, bearing as passengers a sheep called Montauciel (Climb-to-the-sky), a duck and a rooster. De Maistre and a friend constructed a pair of giant wings out of paper and wire and planned to fly to America. They did not succeed. Two years later de Maistre secured himself a place in a hot air balloon and spent a few moments floating above Chambéry before the machine crashed into a pine forest.

- From the foreword by Alain de Botton