Les Fleurs du mal de mer

Abstract

In the closing decades of the nineteenth century the Channel gained a new lease of life as a significant and emphasised phenomenon in cultural geography. Relations between the literatures of Britain and France grew stronger in these years, and were fostered by a good deal of travel back and forth. British writers set off for the salons of Paris, and their French counterparts proceeded to London. In the case of the British visitors to France, the motivation was often artistic: France was held to be closer to the centre of inspiration, especially in the visual arts, than anywhere in Britain. In the case of French writers visiting Britain, the motivation was often more practical, but still a matter of culture.