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" When I travel through my room, I rarely follow a straight line: I go from the table towards a picture hanging in a corner; from there, I set out obliquely towards the door; but even though, when I begin, it really is my intention to go there, if I happen to meet my armchair en route, I don’t think twice about it, and settle down in it without further ado."

In 1790 Xavier de Maistre was punished for having gotten into a duel by being put under house arrest for forty-two days. De Maistre cleverly took advantage of his sequestration, finding within his own four walls a wealth of material to dwell on. His short book, Voyage around my Room, recounts his expeditions during that time.

De Maistre had his faithful servant tending to his daily needs, and his dog, Rosine, is a stalwart companion. Physically de Maistre could not roam far and so most of the travels were, indeed, leaps of the imagination — but he did find a surprising amount of material in his fairly comfortable room. He slowly leads the reader around it, describing the pictures on the walls, the vistas and prospects within and beyond the room, exploring and dwelling on objects that are otherwise taken for granted. And what he see brings back memories, focusses ideas, leads him to look at things anew. He proceeds at a leisurely pace — and is disappointed at how soon the allotted time is up, knowing that in the outside world everyday life will not permit such fine contemplation. The room is that enchanted realm containing all the wealth and riches of the world, revealed and revelled in when he has the time and peace to dwell on it.

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