Nothing captures the essence of a place or time like personal accounts, glimpses and anecdotes. In this section, we bring you an "up close and personal" look at America through the eyes of a host of Victorian authors. You'll find first-person accounts from such notables as Robert Louis Stevenson and Theodore Roosevelt - alongside equally fascinating reports by writers you've probably never heard of. You'll find "insider" accounts of America by American writers - and fascinating glimpses of how the country and its people were viewed by visitors from across the pond. Here, the main criteria is that the tale be truly personal (as opposed to a basic travelogue or nonfiction look at some aspect of the United States). We've also included the 12-part series "Aunt Mehitable's Winter in Washington," which uses the experiences of a fictional visitor from Virginia to show the reader a very real look at the nation's capitol. Accounts in this section are presented chronologically rather than topically.

Cars and Stages in America (Leisure Hour 1860)

A British traveler looks at modes of transporation in the US, including omnibuses, tramway "cars," railways, sleighs or sledges, and riverboats. There is also an interesting observation on "insulting" treatment of blacks on all forms of public conveyance in America.

A Morning at Stewart's, by Alice B. Haven (Godey's, 1863)

A day at a well-known New York department store.

Scientific Farming (Atlantic Monthly, 1865)

A delightful article that takes one on a rhapsodic tour of a classic American farm.

Aunt Eve Interviewed (Harper's Monthly, 1873A)

A fascinating interview with a former slave, thought to be around 104 years old.

Aunt Mehitable's Winter in Washington, by Mrs. Harriet Hazleton (Godey's, 1873-1874)

A delightful 12-part series that follows a country woman's fictional visit to Washington, DC - where she visits with a number of the notables of the day, views the local sites and memorials, and offers quite a commentary on the fashions and home decor as it contrasts with her experience "back home in Virginia."

The Old Regime in the Old Dominion, by George Cary Eggleston (Atlantic Monthly, 1875)

Life in pre-Civil-War Virginia.

Something Like a Railway Journey (Cassell's Family Magazine, 1875)

A British writer takes a 3287-mile railway journey across America.

The Adirondacks Verified, by Charles Dudley Warner (Atlantic Monthly, 1878)

Christmas in the Far West, by W.H. Wiltshire (Cassell's Family Magazine, 1878)

What Christmas was like on the bleak, empty, freezing Kansas prairie (illustrated with a picture of a log cabin surrounded by heavy woods!).

An Overland Trip (Demorest, 1880)

A young woman's description of a journey across the American continent. (Unfortunately one installment is missing.)

Summer Days at Lake George, by Lucy Millington (St. Nicholas, 1882B)

A child's visit to Lake George, New York - unfortunately told a bit too childishly!

Sights and Scenes of the New World: Up the Hudson, by Catherine Owen (Cassell's Family Magazine, 1883)

"A river so beautiful, that if it were situated anywhere in Europe half the world would be going to admire it."

Visiting the Gypsies, by Charles G. Leland (Century Magazine, 1883A)

A Lady's Journey to Texas and Back Again, by Julia Conron (Girl's Own Paper, 1883-84)

In 1880, having suffered "great losses in business," a British family "resolved to try what a new country could do for us -- or rather what we could manage to do in another land." A fascinating look at the journey (the San Antonio hotel was a whopping $1 per night), and life on a small Texas ranch.

Life in Old Virginia, by Edith M. Nicholl (Cassell's Family Magazine, 1884)

An Englishwoman finds Virginia pleasant, except for the very non-English weather!

[Coney Island] A Unique Watering Place, by Catherine Owen (Cassell's Family Magazine, 1884)

A visit to New York's Coney Island, "the most popular watering place in the country," with eight railroads running to it, one line of horse tram-cars, and nine lines of steamboats!

[Galveston] The Queen of the Mexican Gulf, by Catherine Owen (Cassell's Family Magazine, 1884)

The author's search for "rustic" America leads her to Galveston, Texas - which she finds not so rustic at all!

On a Mississippi Steamboat, by Catherine Owen (Cassell's Family Magazine, 1884)

Traveling from New Orleans to St. Louis on a Mississippi steamboat... "I am sorry to say a great deal of drinking, smoking and card-playing goes on, on board these steamers..."

The Silverado Squatters, by Robert Louis Stevenson (Century Magazine, 1884A)

Stevenson's account of a period of time spent in the California Coast Range.

New Orleans Before the Capture, by George W. Cable (Century Magazine, 1885A)

See the Civil War section for articles on the Battle of New Orleans.

Four Friends in a Phaeton [in Nebraska] (Demorest, 1886)

Four friends embark on a driving tour of Nebraska, with delightful results!

Life in an American Boarding House (Cassell's Family Magazine, 1886)

"The boarding house as a home is rarely a matter of choice, but it is the best [a married couple] can do to meet the difficulty of living in a country where the conditions of social life are less easy than elsewhere."

Notes from the Prairie, by John Burroughs (Century Magazine, 1886B)

Correspondence with Mrs. Beardslee of Manchester, Iowa.

The Editor's Visit to California, by William Jennings Demorest (Demorest, 1887)

Flatting in America, by Deliverance Dingle(Cassell's Family Magazine, 1887)

British ladies find living in an American "flat" to be quite an unusual experience!

A Little Millerite, by Jane Marsh Parker (Century Magazine, 1887A)

A personal recollection of growing up in the Millerite community. The Millerites were the followers of the teachings of William Miller, who in 1833 first shared publicly his belief that the Second Advent of Jesus Christ would occur in roughly the year 1843–1844.

A Santa Barbara Holiday, by Edwards Roberts (Harper's Monthly, 1887B)

Snubbin' Through Jersey, by F. Hopkinson Smith and J.B. Millet (Century Magazine, 1887B)

Navigating New Jersey waters in a canal boat.

Paddle Your Own Canoe, by C. Bowyer Vaux (Demorest, 1888)

Ranch Life in the Far West, by Theodore Roosevelt (illustrated by Frederic Remington) (Century Magazine, 1888A)

Frontier Types, by Theodore Roosevelt (Century Magazine, 1888B)

With illustrations by Frederic Remington.

The Ranchman's Rifle on Crag and Prairie, by Theodore Roosevelt (Century Magazine, 1888B)

With illustrations by Frederic Remington.

Sheriff's Work on a Ranch, by Theodore Roosevelt (Century Magazine, 1888B)

With illustrations by Frederic Remington.

Shopping in "The States"(Cassell's Family Magazine, 1890)

An American shares a glimpse of America's great department stores, where payments whiz across the ceiling from clerk to cashier on a network of wires, and just about everyone chews gum...

To 'Frisco, by Sir Julian Goldsmid (English Illustrated Magazine, 1890A)

Traveling by steamer from Britain to New York, and by rail from New York to San Francisco.

Transatlantic Trifles, by Sir Julian Goldsmid (English Illustrated Magazine, 1890A)

An Englishman's impressions of travel in America.

The Heart of the Desert, by Charles Dudley Warner (Harper's Monthly, 1891A)

A journey to the Grand Canyon from California, via Yosemite and other scenic locations.

The Record of Virtue: An Experiment in Moral Chemistry, by Anna Garlin Spencer (Century Magazine, 1891A)

An interesting account of a teacher's efforts to instill "moral training" in his students by the use of a competition encouraging the students to keep a "record of virtue."

Across the Plains in the Donner Party, by Virginia Reed Murphy (Century Magazine, 1891B)

A charming and touching account of the ill-fated Donner party by a woman who was a young girl at the time of her travels.

Notes on Jonathan's Daughters, by Max O'Rell (The Strand, 1891B)

Max O'Rell was a noted French writer who lived in England and wrote in English; hence, his charming view of American ladies combines both a French and a British perspective.

A Boston Schoolgirl in 1771, by Alice Morse Earl (Atlantic Monthly, 1893)

Charming excerpts from the diary of 12-year-old Anna Green Winslow. (Anna thinks quite a lot of nice clothes!)

Reminiscences of Brook Farm, by George P. Bradford (Century Magazine, 1893A)

Brook Farm was a utopian experiment in communal living in the 1840s. It was founded by former Unitarian minister George Ripley and his wife Sophia Ripley in Massachusetts in 1841 and was inspired in part by the ideals of Transcendentalism. Founded as a joint stock company, it promised its participants a portion of the profits from the farm in exchange for performing an equal share of the work.

In Cow-Boy Land, by Theodore Roosevelt (Century Magazine, 1893B)

With pictures by Frederic Remington.

From London to Chicago, by James Mortimer (The Strand, 1893B)

"From the greatest capital of the Old World to the young giant city of the Western Hemisphere is now, comparatively speaking, only a step." It's a step of some six or seven days by sea and another 24 hours from New York by train, but still, a step... This article describes the journey, and the luxuries of both liner and train, in marvelous detail.

American Schoolgirl Life, by M.B. Byrde (Girl's Own Paper, 1894)

Memories of life in an American parochial school.

A Day's Expedition in Virginia, by the Countess of Meath (Girl's Own Paper, 1894)

The Countess finds American ways a bit different from what she is used to -- especially the way ordinary folks consider themselves her equal!

Hunting an Abandoned Farm in Connecticut/New England, by William Henry Bishop (Century Magazine, 1894A, 1894B)

Charming account of searching for just the right farmhouse.

Fun on the Stump, by Edward J. McDermott (Century Magazine, 1895B)

Subtitled "Humors of political campaigning in Kentucky."

Neighborhood Types, by Mary E. Wilkins (Ladies Home Journal, 1896)

Portraits of a variety of neighbors - real, or fictional?

A Tenderfoot in Texas by Stanley L. Wood (Windsor, 1897A)

A British artist's delightful account (and illustrations) of his visit to a Texas ranch.

An Adventure with a Dog and a Glacier, by John Muir (Century Magazine, 1897B)

John Muir's delightful account of very nearly being trapped on an Alaskan glacier with a small dog named "Stickeen."

Chronicles of an Anglo-Californian Ranch, by Margaret Innes(Girl's Own Paper, 1899)

A 13-part series describing a British family's adventures in California - the midnight hunt for a rattlesnake is not to be missed!

Paying an Election Bet (The Strand, 1899B)

The author, having lost his bet, was to ride a donkey from New York to San Francisco, without a dollar in his pocket, earning his keep along the way. One method he used to accomplish the feat was to sell pictures of his journey!

The Druggist's Peculiar Orders (Boston Herald, no date)

A look at the various intriguing spellings druggists encounter when trying to fill prescriptions.