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French life in town and country

Chapter 15: Our European Neighbours
By Hannah Lynch
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French LiteratureSociologyTravel Writing

About This Book

A panoramic portrait of French society that contrasts provincial and Parisian life, tracing regional customs, dialects, and landscapes alongside the rhythms of rural labor and provincial town routines. It examines social hierarchies, leisure and ceremonial practices, military and educational institutions, the press and public associations, and urban salons and philanthropic networks, while highlighting relationships between peasants, artisans, and middle-class ambition. Richly descriptive and organized by topic, the work combines local sketches, institutional analysis, and cultural observation to convey everyday habits, civic structures, and the tensions between tradition and modern public life.

Our European Neighbours

Edited by WILLIAM HARBUTT DAWSON

12ᵒ. Illustrated. Each, net $1.20.
By Mail 1.30

I.—FRENCH LIFE IN TOWN AND COUNTRY

By Hannah Lynch.

“Miss Lynch’s pages are thoroughly interesting and suggestive. Her style, too, is not common. It is marked by vivacity without any drawback of looseness, and resembles a stream that runs strongly and evenly between walls. It is at once distinguished and useful.... Her five-page description (not dramatization) of the grasping Paris landlady is a capital piece of work.... Such well-finished portraits are frequent in Miss Lynch’s book, which is small, inexpensive, and of a real excellence.”—The London Academy.

“Miss Lynch’s book is particularly notable. It is the first of a series describing the home and social life of various European peoples—a series long needed and sure to receive a warm welcome. Her style is frank, vivacious, entertaining, captivating, just the kind for a book which is not at all statistical, political, or controversial. A special excellence of her book, reminding one of Mr. Whiteing’s, lies in her continual contrast of the English and the French, and she thus sums up her praises: ‘The English are admirable: the French are lovable.’”—The Outlook.

II.—GERMAN LIFE IN TOWN AND COUNTRY

By W. H. Dawson, author of “Germany and the Germans,” etc.

“The book is as full of correct, impartial, well-digested, and well-presented information as an egg is of meat. One can only recommend it heartily and without reserve to all who wish to gain an insight into German life. It worthily presents a great nation, now the greatest and strongest in Europe.”—Commercial Advertiser.

III.—RUSSIAN LIFE IN TOWN AND COUNTRY

By Francis H. E. Palmer, sometime Secretary to H. H. Prince Droutskop-Loubetsky (Equerry to H. M. the Emperor of Russia).

“We would recommend this above all other works of its character to those seeking a clear general understanding of Russian life, character, and conditions, but who have not the leisure or inclination to read more voluminous tomes... It cannot be too highly recommended, for it conveys practically all that well-informed people should know of ‘Our European Neighbours.’”—Mail and Express.

IV.—DUTCH LIFE IN TOWN AND COUNTRY

By P. M. Hough, B.A.

Not alone for its historic past is Holland interesting, but also for the paradox which it presents to-day. It is difficult to reconcile the old-world methods seen all over the country with the advanced ideas expressed in conversation, in books, and in newspapers. Mr. Hough’s long residence in the country has enabled him to present a trustworthy picture of Dutch social life and customs in the seven provinces,—the inhabitants of which, while diverse in race, dialect, and religion, are one in their love of liberty and patriotic devotion.

“Holland is always interesting, in any line of study. In this work its charm is carefully preserved. The sturdy toil of the people, their quaint characteristics, their conservative retention of old dress and customs, their quiet abstention from taking part in the great affairs of the world are all clearly reflected in this faithful mirror. The illustrations are of a high grade of photographic reproductions.”—Washington Post.

V.—SWISS LIFE IN TOWN AND COUNTRY

By Alfred T. Story, author of the “Building of the British Empire,” etc.

Switzerland forms one of the smallest states of Europe, being little more than half the size of Scotland, and is almost the only one whose history is the history of its people. It is the centre of the grandest scenery, the birthplace of four of its best known and most considerable rivers, and has for centuries enjoyed the special distinction of being the home of democracy and freedom.

As Mr. Story points out, the average tourist, passing more or less rapidly through the country, while impressed by the grandeur of the scenery, fails utterly to secure any true insight into the home life of the people. Mr. Story has, however, pitched his tent among the Alps and has made a careful and sympathetic study of Swiss life,—the keynote of which is simplicity and sincerity.

IN PREPARATION

SPANISH LIFE IN TOWN AND COUNTRY

By L. Higgin.

ITALIAN LIFE IN TOWN AND COUNTRY

By Luigi Villari.

G. P. PUTNAM’S SONS
New York and London