The Labyrinth

"This travel book is truly a labyrinth—or, more precisely, a piece of the labyrinth that it has been my fate to wander, from the cradle to the grave."

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, theater, 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. 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 traveler at a pivotal moment in European history.