2011, Pococke Press,                                                                                                             304 pages

Editor: Rachel Finnegan

Volume 2 reproduces the complete collection of Pococke’s letters to his mother from the second tour (1736-37), together with selected letters from Milles and Pococke to the bishop. This journey differed significantly from their earlier tour of France and Italy and from the standard Grand Tour of the period, with the cousins visiting France, the Low Countries, Germany, Austria, Poland, Hungary & the Balkans.

The travellers spent much of their time at the royal and imperial courts of Europe, and Pococke’s correspondence to his mother gives colourful descriptions of their encounters with King George II of England, the King & Queen of Poland, the King of Prussia, and his famous regiment of Tall Soldiers. There are also amusing accounts of the Holy Roman Emperor and his extended family of Archduchesses, with minute details of their dress, hair styles and dining habits.

In common with Volume 1, this book gives a fascinating insight into Pococke’s professional and financial life, particularly as it relates to his prolonged absence from his clerical duties in Ireland. It also reveals his tendency to gossip (especially where his cousin and other fellow countrymen are concerned) and his sartorial taste, again offering us an alternative view to that of Mrs Delany that he was “the dullest man that ever travelled”.