Sweden is full of robbers, Germans are unclean and Spaniards are cruel. Those nasty generalizations are culled from a series of 19th century children's guides to the world by Favell Lee Mortimer. Todd Pruzan, the author of The Clumsiest People in Europe, a new book that compiles Mrs. Mortimer's works, says he couldn't believe his eyes when he first read them. "It was almost like a snapshot of Victorian prejudice made available for anyone to come find," he tells Melissa Block.Friends often ask Pruzan what his book is about. "Usually I tell them that it's a collection of very nasty Victorian children's writing about geography, written by somebody who didn't get out very much," he says. Indeed Mrs. Mortimer rarely traveled outside her native England.Here's a sampling of the cultural slurs relayed by Mrs. Mortimer: On Poland: "You may go a great way without seeing anything pretty."On Burma: "The Burmese are very deceitful and tell lies on every occasion. Indeed, they are not ashamed of their falsehoods."And on her native country: "England, what country do you love best? Your own country. I know you do. Every child loves his own country best."

The Clumsiest People in Europe, or: Mrs. Mortimer's Bad-Tempered Guide to the Victorian World

Travel

Todd Pruzan

Favell Lee Mortimer

Travel Writing

Bloomsbury Press

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Todd Pruzan. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Todd Pruzan

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Todd Pruzan. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

The Clumsiest People in Europe, or: Mrs. Mortimer's Bad-Tempered Guide to the Victorian World