Journal of a Tour in Italy, in 1850

A Church of England clergyman and biblical scholar, George Townsend (1788-1857) gained recognition for preparing chronological arrangements of both the Old and New Testament. First published in 1850, the present work is an intriguing account of his journey to Italy for an audience with Pope Pius IX, whom he intended to convert to Protestantism. Townsend's journal features details of his stay in Paris, where he was received by the city's archbishop, as well as remarks on the churches and clergy he encountered along the way. In Rome and the Vatican, he visited the main sites of interest while commenting on points of doctrinal divergence and the hospitality shown towards him. Warmly received by Pius IX, who chose to interpret the visit as ecumenical, Townsend inevitably failed in his ultimate objective. Tendentious and forthright, his work sheds light on a strain of English anti-Catholicism.