An illustrated guide to the finest literary and historically important diaries from ancient times to the present day


Travel back in time and witness both everyday life and great moments in history in this fascinating compilation of diaries through the ages.

Bringing together historical and literary diaries, artists' sketchbooks, explorers' journals, and scientists' notebooks, Great Diaries provides an intimate insight into the lives and thoughts of some of the most interesting people of the last two thousand years. Discover what it was like to build a pyramid, sail the seas with Magellan, travel into the heart of Africa, or serve on the Western Front. Find out how writers and artists planned their masterpieces, and how scientists developed their groundbreaking theories.

Arranged chronologically, Great Diaries takes you into the pages of the world's greatest diaries, notebooks, and letters, including those of Samuel Pepys, Henry-David Thoreau, the Goncourt brothers, Virginia Woolf, and Anne Frank. Stunning reproductions of the original notebooks and manuscripts are complemented by extracts and quotations, and illustrated features set the diaries in their cultural and historical context.

Essential reading for everyone who is passionate about history and literature, Great Diaries provides a fascinating insight into the everyday lives, thoughts, and feelings of men and women through the centuries.