British imaginings of a European periphery: Roger Scruton, Michael Palin and Michael Booth in/on Finland

Abstract

This article examines the representation of Finland as a European periphery in three modern British travel narratives: Roger Scruton’s Gentle Regrets: Thoughts from a Life (2005), Michael Palin’s Pole to Pole (1992) and Michael Booth’s Almost Nearly Perfect People: The Truth about the Nordic Miracle (2014). In these texts the narrators travel to a European periphery between the east and the west, populated by a peculiar nation that the authors associate with excessive drinking, and meet some of the area’s silent inhabitants. Based on postcolonial theory and studies of cultural stereotypes, the article suggests that the texts reveal a transforming discourse of European peripheries in British writing. While Scruton applies stereotypes negatively, Palin’s narrative points to ways in which they can be undercut to initiate a cross-cultural dialogue. Similarly, Booth aims at uncovering the various images and stereotypes of the nation in order to educate his British audience.

Keywords:

• Finland
• travel writing
• representation
• stereotype
• peripheries
• Roger Scruton
• Michael Palin
• Michael Booth

Acknowledgements

This research is part of the research project EUBORDERSCAPES: Bordering, Political Landscapes and Social Arenas: Potentials and Challenges of Evolving Border Concepts in a Post-Cold War World [290775] financed by the EU’s 7th Framework Programme for Research and Technological Development [FP7-SSH-2011-1].