Thomas Adam is associate professor at the University of Texas at Arlington, where he teaches modern transatlantic and German history. Gisela Mettele is a lecturer at the University of Leicester, United Kingdom, where she teaches European and American urban history.

• Chapter 1 PrefaceChapter 2 IntroductionPart 3 Part I. A Student Discovers Germany: George Ticknor, 1815–1817Chapter 4 1. "We reached Gottingen, anxious and doubting." Studying Abroad, August 5, 1815–September 10, 1816Chapter 5 2. "A Journey" with Edward Everett, September 13–October 25, 1816Chapter 6 3. "Germany. Face of the Country": Youthful Reflections, 1815–1817Chapter 7 4. "One important step nearer to...home." March 22–April 1, 1817Part 8 Part II. Cosmopolitan Sojourners in Royal SaxonyChapter 9 Section I: George Ticknor, 1835–1836Chapter 10 5. "The spires and towers of Dresden were before us." November 12–December 25, 1835Chapter 11 6. "I was presented at Court." December 26, 1835–April 22, 1836Chapter 12 7. "To keep...as distinct an impression as I can." A Summary: April 1836Chapter 13 8. "It was not agreeable to leave Dresden." May 8–June 5, 1836Chapter 14 Section II: Anna Ticknor, 1835–1836Chapter 15 9. "Safely arrived at this haven of rest." November 10–December 25, 1835Chapter 16 10. "I amused myself with a rehearsal of my dress." December 26, 1835–April 12, 1836Chapter 17 11. "I would fain...give an impression...of this pretty city." April 26–May 8, 1836Chapter 18 12. "Once more travellers!" May 10–June 5, 1836

In this work, elite Americans express their fascination with the cultural and social life they observed and experienced while on extended tour in early nineteenth-century Germany—particularly in Dresden, the vibrant capital of the Kingdom of Saxony. Expertly edited, the volume introduces us to an image of a romanticized/idealized Germany that shaped the thinking of many Americans for decades after the Ticknors' travels. It makes an important contribution to our understanding of the ways in which European traditions influenced intellectual developments in the United States.