Friday Fact!

After giving up playwriting, Mariana Starke (1761/2 – 1838) became a renowned travel writer, publishing Letters from Italy between the Years 1792 and 1798, containing a View of the Revolutions in that Country in 1800, followed by Travels on the Continent (1820) and Travels in Europe (1828). She used a system of exclamation marks (!!!) to rate the quality of recommended tourist attractions and hotels, a forerunner of today’s star rating system.