The Labyrinth — Jens Baggesen

Jens Baggesen s The Labyrinth 1792 93 is a genre bending and highly personal travel book that follows the young Danish author s journey made in 1789 from Copenhagen through Germany to the Swiss border at Basel In its outer form it follows the conventions of travel writing describing the cities landscapes and notable people encountered on the route while also offering critical commentary on art architecture theatre and literature mixed with reactions to the unfolding French Revolution However Baggesen finds contemporary travel writing to be pedantic and dry and is determined to make his own account as engaging and personal as possible Based on the principle that nothing is more necessary in a volume of travels than a traveller the narrative eschews a focus on prescribed sights and instead foregrounds his individual responses to the places and people he encounters Baggesen s account of his journey is not simply sentimental but rather moves through an array of different often conflicting affective and intellectual register from dejection to wit whimsy and ebullient joy including enchanted observations of nature as well as cosmopolitan reveries about the brotherhood of nations Similarly the prose style of the book always acknowledged as a key feature is determinedly eclectic A richly varied compendium of literary styles attitudes and philosophical ideas brought to life in a new English translation by Jesper Gulddal The Labyrinth offers a rare glimpse into the mind of an endlessly thinking feeling and imagining traveller at a pivotal moment in European history