Wikipedia:Today's featured article/requests/History of a Six Weeks' Tour

History of a Six Weeks' Tour

 * The following discussion is an archived discussion of the TFAR nomination of the article below. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as Wikipedia talk:Today's featured article/requests). Please do not modify this page unless you are renominating the article at TFAR. For renominations, please add   to the top of the discussion and   at the bottom, then complete a new TFAR nom underneath.

The result was: not scheduled by BencherliteTalk 20:33, 20 April 2014 (UTC)



History of a Six Weeks' Tour through a part of France, Switzerland, Germany, and Holland; with Letters Descriptive of a Sail Round the Lake of Geneva and of the Glaciers of Chamouni is a travel narrative by the British Romantic authors Mary Shelley and Percy Bysshe Shelley. Published in 1817, it describes two trips taken by Mary, Percy, and Mary's stepsister, Claire Clairmont: one across Europe in 1814, and one to Lake Geneva in 1816. Divided into three sections, the text consists of a journal, four letters, and Percy Shelley's poem "Mont Blanc". Apart from the poem, the text was primarily written and organised by Mary Shelley. In 1840 she revised the journal and the letters, republishing them in a collection of Percy Shelley's writings. Part of the new genre of the Romantic travel narrative, History of a Six Weeks' Tour exudes spontaneity and enthusiasm; the authors demonstrate their desire to develop a sense of taste and distinguish themselves from those around them. The romantic elements of the work would have hinted at the text's radical politics to nineteenth-century readers. However, the text's frank discussion of politics, including positive references to the French Revolution and praise of Enlightenment philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau, was unusual for a travel narrative at the time, particularly one authored primarily by a woman. Although it sold poorly, History of a Six Weeks' Tour received favourable reviews. In proposing another travel narrative to her publisher in 1843, Mary Shelley claimed "my 6 weeks tour brought me many compliments".
 * Most recent similar articles: 13 February 2014
 * Main editors: Wadewitz
 * Promoted: 2008
 * Reasons for nomination: in memory, I respectfully didn't touch the blurb
 * Support as nominator. Gerda Arendt (talk) 21:34, 11 April 2014 (UTC)
 * Before including I should have looked above. Should we discuss for a later date anyway? --Gerda Arendt (talk) 21:45, 11 April 2014 (UTC)


 * Oppose current blurb: the full title, in bold, is highly disruptive and unnecessary (that's the full name, not the common name). Furthermore, there is no link to the article in the blurb proper. My attempts to fix these were reverted by the nominator. — Crisco 1492 (talk) 08:17, 13 April 2014 (UTC)


 * I found the blurb, and in respect for the deceased author didn't change it. Can we please discuss first, not revert? I agree that it should not appear that way, but we need to find an alternative to present the content and language style of the subtitle. --Gerda Arendt (talk) 07:06, 13 April 2014 (UTC)
 * I did not revert, you did. The alternative is simple: use the common title, link the article title. I'm sorry she's gone, but we still have to maintain standards with blurbs for articles she's written. — Crisco 1492 (talk) 08:17, 13 April 2014 (UTC)
 * Sorry, that's no good alternative, because then - as explained above - we need to say the things from the subtitle differently, the facts (countries etc.) and the style, which I think is better as it is than described. The first suggestion looked like the article, I have unbolded the subtitle now. --Gerda Arendt (talk) 08:28, 13 April 2014 (UTC)
 * "we need to say the things from the subtitle differently, the facts (countries etc.) " - That's why you add prose regarding the "countries etc.", rather than include a title that is 15% of the allotted blurb length (I count 181 characters, with spaces). The blurb itself is 1,576 characters, so it must be trimmed by at least 376 character to be run on the MP. You'll save 150 by just using the common title. — Crisco 1492 (talk) 10:06, 13 April 2014 (UTC)
 * Where to trim should not be my personal choice but be discussed. I would drop the last sentence and "the authors demonstrate their desire to develop a sense of taste and distinguish themselves from those around them.", for example, --Gerda Arendt (talk) 21:57, 13 April 2014 (UTC)
 * Which would still not be enough. — Crisco 1492 (talk) 00:38, 14 April 2014 (UTC)
 * My approach would be as follows, but others might say that what I dropped was essential:
 * History of a Six Weeks' Tour through a part of France, Switzerland, Germany, and Holland; with Letters Descriptive of a Sail Round the Lake of Geneva and of the Glaciers of Chamouni is a travel narrative by the British Romantic authors Mary Shelley and Percy Bysshe Shelley. Published in 1817, it describes two trips taken with Mary's stepsister, Claire Clairmont, in 1814 and 1816. The text consists of a journal, four letters, and Percy Shelley's poem "Mont Blanc". The text was primarily written and organised by Mary Shelley, who republished a revised version in 1848 in a collection of Percy Shelley's writings. Part of the new genre of the Romantic travel narrative, History of a Six Weeks' Tour exudes spontaneity and enthusiasm. The romantic elements of the work would have hinted at the text's radical politics to nineteenth-century readers. However, the text's frank discussion of politics, including positive references to the French Revolution and praise of Enlightenment philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau, was unusual for a travel narrative at the time, particularly authored by a woman. Although it sold poorly, History of a Six Weeks' Tour received favourable reviews. --Gerda Arendt (talk) 10:27, 14 April 2014 (UTC)