A Frenchman’s Year in Suffolk: French Impressions of Suffolk Life in 1784

When Francois de la Rochefoucauld and his brother Alexandre visited Suffolk in 1784, the events which were to lead to the French Revolution in 1789 were already in train. Francois’ father, the duc de Liancourt, Grand Master of theWardrobe at Louis XVI’s court, was well placed to appreciate the dangers of the situation in France, and it must have been with anxious hopefulness that he sent his sons (Francois was then 18) to England for a year to appreciatethe ordering of these things in a country which had experienced a revolution over a century earlier. Such reflections are never far below the surface of this otherwise cheerful journal of a year abroad, which gives a vivid pictureof English provincial life; Francois’ observations range over such diverse subjects as English customs and manners and methods of agriculture and stockbreeding, and include a lively account of a general election.
Norman Scarfe, the well-known historian of Suffolk and beyond, provides a spirited translation of Francois’ journal; it is complemented by numerous illustrations.