Introduction to the Bibliography

The Diary Research Website is designed to help identify and locate diaries from all periods and parts of the world which have been printed in English, for purposes of recreation or research. To this end the principal resource is a free access version of the second edition of An Annotated Bibliography of Diaries Printed in English, compiled by Christopher Handley and published by Hanover Press in 1998. The bibliography lists diaries which have been printed, and in most cases published, with sufficient description to enable the reader to judge whether the material is likely to be of use or interest, and to provide the information necessary to locate a copy of the work in question. This web edition is made freely available in the interests of scholarship, subject only to the conditions of the Copyright Notice.

There is no longer any search facility incorporated in this site but the Google Site Search is a more than satisfactory substitute for the primitive tools which used to be provided.

The List of Diaries is divided into four sections: Diaries 838-1699, Diaries 1700-1799, Diaries 1800-1899 and Diaries 1900-1999; each section is preceded a page of by dated links from which the list may be browsed backwards or forwards. Regular visitors will also note that the opportunity to download the bibliography in pdf format is no longer available.

The material given here is the major part of the second edition of the Bibliography but it should be noted that current full version, being the revised and enlarged third edition, which contains references to many more diaries especially of recent appearance and from serial publications, together with some ancillary material, is now more easily available.

Many visitors to this site have formed the impression that because a diary is listed the text is also available in electronic form. It is emphasised that this is not so, this site is a guide and with two exceptions is not a repository of diary texts.

The following notes explain the format and some coded references which may otherwise be puzzling:

The form of the Bibliography follows the pattern set by William Matthews in his American Diaries and British Diaries published by The University of California Press in 1945 and 1950: diarists are listed alphabetically under the year in which the first diary entry occurs, typically followed by dates of birth and death, occupation and or place of residence; the dates covered by the diary are then given, followed by a short indication of its content; finally appear publication details. Many entries in the bibliography have coded abbreviations to the right of the first line which refer, mainly, to entries in the other major bibliographies of diaries. The codes themselves are to be interpreted thus:

H - The item number in And So to Bed: A Bibliography of Diaries Published in English by Patricia Pate Havlice. Metuchen and London, The Scarecrow Press, 1987.

A - The page in American Diaries: An Annotated Bibliography of American Diaries Written Prior to the Year 1861 by William Matthews. Berkeley and Los Angeles, University of California Press, 1945.

B - The page in British Diaries: An Annotated Bibliography of British Diaries Written between 1442 and 1942 by William Matthews. Berkeley, Los Angeles and London, University of California Press, 1950.

C - The item number in Canadian Diaries and Autobiographies by William Matthews. Berkeley and Los Angeles, University of California Press, 1950.

D - The page in British Autobiographies: An Annotated bibliography of British Autobiographies Published or Written Before 1951 by William Matthews. Berkeley and Los Angeles, University of California Press, 1955.

E - Denotes a diarist whose work has not been examined but which has been listed in booksellers or library catalogues.

F - (Rarely used) Indicates a work of fiction.

G - The page in The Published Diaries and Letters of American Women: an annotated bibliography by Joyce D.Goodfriend, Boston, G.K.Hall, 1987.

An asterisk preceding the reference indicates that significant information is present in the bibliography referred to which is not repeated in this one: in most instances this will be the description of a book not mentioned here, which is referred to in Havlice. The absence of an asterisk means that no other diaries by this author are referred to elsewhere.

Where diaries mentioned by William Matthews have yet to be re-examined, his annotations have been quoted by kind permission of the University of California Press.

References to secondary publication of extracts will sometimes be unhelpful, as they refer to a list of Anthologies, Studies and Collections which is not included in this web edition.