"A contemporary critic complains in 1784 that no one now ever undertakes a stroll, a picnic, or a ride without having to tell all Germany what happened on the way -- or worse still, what thoughts occurred to him on the way; and indeed many of these descriptions [in books of travels] really do overdo the details, faithfully reporting every word exchanged with each innkeeper and stranger met on the journey."
-- Book Production, Fiction, and the German Reading Public, 1740-1800, Albert Ward, 1974, p. 136.
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