Darkness, travel and landscape: India by fire- and starlight, c1820–c1860

Abstract

Scholars have written and theorised landscape mainly by the light of day. Not only does such a perspective bypass a significant portion of human experience, it conflicts with some past diurnal routines of dwelling and mobility, such as mid-nineteenth century colonial travel in India. This article studies the interpretations of two English travellers – Emma Roberts and Charles Acland – under conditions of darkness and illumination: by campfire, torchlight and starlight. Specifically, it merges insights from a growing nightscape literature with the scenic sensibilities these travellers imported to India, such as the picturesque and notions of India as oriental and tropical. It argues that darkness and illumination amplified these travellers’ aesthetic impressions by fostering collective experience, optically altering colours and furnishing imaginative leeway.