But some women - including Norfolk's Lady Mary Coke and Lady Cholmondeley - defied 18th and 19th century social constraints to undertake their own Grand Tours, as Dr Brian Dolan of UEA will reveal in an illustrated talk next week.

Dr Dolan will give a talk based on his new book "Ladies of the Grand Tour" at the UEA Drama Studio on Thursday, June 14 at 6.30pm. Admission is free and all are welcome. A drinks reception follows.

"We usually associate the Grand Tour with men, who were expected to improve themselves through university education and continental travel, while women were left to bible study and child rearing," explained Dr Dolan of the Wellcome Unit for the History of Medicine at UEA.

Critics of the time, uncomfortable with the idea of British gentlewomen socialising in foreign society, portrayed women travellers in a harsh light.

One woman charged with bringing the national character into disrepute - after reportedly being arrested in Paris - was Lady Cholmondeley, whose family settled at Houghton Hall in North Norfolk.

"I will draw on the diaries, letters and journals of women travellers to reveal how they wanted to represent themselves not as disorderly rebels but as travellers and travel writers," said Dr Dolan.

"Women travelled for a variety of reasons: some sought to escape their husbands and make their own social rules abroad; others travelled for educational or health reasons."

Lady Mary Coke was one of many women who escaped unhappy domestic circumstances by seizing the opportunity to travel abroad.

As a 21-year-old newly-wed she was confined against her will by her husband at the Norfolk Estate of his father, Thomas Coke, who constructed Holkham Hall. After divorce she embarked on a number of Grand Tours to revitalise her life.

Further details on the lecture available from 01603 593576. ends