I do YouTube Videos about Writing!!

Hello everyone!

I am so sorry that I've been a bit MIA on this blog in recent months. Since September things have been really busy in terms of submitting my first manuscript (!!) and then trying to get going on book 2 manuscript as well as editing book 1. In September I also started a freelance contract managing digital marketing for an online retail company and that takes up almost 2 full days a week . . . So, it's been busy, to say the least.

Some of you might know that since Tom and I moved to France we have been filming regular vlog style video diaries and publishing them on our YouTube channel. Around March time last year I published a 'Day in the life of a writer' video on the channel and around July/August I noticed that the views were spiking on it (it currently has over 5K views!).

 

Because this video seemed so popular I decided to do another one (part two) and then I began to get suggestions on further videos, and so as of January, I have decided that writing videos are going to take up about half of all videos I upload to my channel. Currently, there are 6 videos published on the channel, which are all saved to a playlist and include 'A Week in the Life of a Writer', 'How I stay Motivated in my Writing', '6 Tips for Getting Started as a Writer' etc.

On top of that, I am going to start a historical series, publishing short, ten-minute videos about a specific historical topic. These will be mostly related to my subject (country houses, women's history etc.) and I will be publishing one of these every month.

So, I just wanted to apologise for not being around much over the last 5-6months but I am back and I will be posting regularly again, but in the meantime, if you want to check out my writing videos on YouTube, then here is the link: Charlotte & Tom YouTube Channel.

See you again soon!
Charlotte

A History of Diary Writing

Photo Source

A diary or journal has been used for hundreds of years as a way for an individual to record the events within their daily lives, leaving a unique look at one person’s perception of the world which can be looked back upon in future years. Some diarists subsequently publish their diaries, or have them published by members of their family.

Perhaps the most famous diary in the world is that of Anne Frank, the German-born Jewish girl who hid from the Nazi’s in an attic with her family. At just fifteen when she died, her diary captured the hearts of everyone who read it for its frank and innocent view of such horrific times.

Source: Smithsonian Magazine

I myself kept a diary for a number of years during the first years of high school, recording the minutiae of daily life, as well as all my teenage crushes (there were a lot!). I recently read back over the diaries and was both embarrassed at their content and also impressed that I managed to commit to writing entries almost every day. In subsequent years, I have tried to take up journal writing again but I continually fail.

It made me think . . . was this due to a specific reason? Are our lives now too full of technology and other stimulants to make diary writing feasible? I have decided to take a look back through the centuries at when diaries became popular and how diaries were used to see if there are any reasons why they were more or less popular over different centuries. . .


The Diary’s Origin

The word ‘diary’ comes from the Latin word diarum which meant daily allowance and the earliest examples seem to come from the Middle and East Asian cultures. “The earliest surviving diary of this era which most resembles the modern day was that of Ibn Banna’ in the 11th century. His diary is the earliest known to be arranged in order of date (ta’rikh in Arabic), very much like modern diaries.” [George Makdisi, "The Diary in Islamic Historiography: Some Notes". History and Theory. 1986. pp. 173–85.]

The Rise of the Diary

Diarising was really established in England during the seventeenth century. This timing coincides with the reformation when the bible was translated into English for the first time, which meant that more men and women were learning to read and write so that they could have a more personal relationship with the bible and with God. Alongside this, with the invention of the printing press, paper became more widely produced and available for people to purchase. What with an increase in literacy and access to writing materials, diary writing began to increase in popularity.

One of the most famous diarists of the period Samuel Pepys ‘seems to have begun his diary because he was aware of the crisis affecting the nation at the start of 1660’ [source]. It seems that living within a society where there are significant political events happening is likely to encourage people to keep a journal. 

An excerpt from Pepys's diary concerning Charles II's investigations into the affairs of the Navy Office [source]

Diaries really seem to have hit the height of popularity between the 18th and 20th centuries and authors such as Jane Austen show their characters writing in their diary about their lives. This could be again due to the fact that the physical diary was more readily available in shops and were more affordable. Secondly, this is a period in history which brought great change to England. There was the industrial revolution, the building of the railways, the expansion of the British Empire, steam power and much, much more! Perhaps we can surmise that, like Samuel Pepys in the 17th century, diarists living in the later centuries were compelled to write in a way to record the changing world around them.

Men and Women, how they differ

Whilst men seem to have been keen to keep a diary in order to record major events in their lives, both personally as well as major social events, women’s diaries were much more about their personal lives and the lives of people around them. They were filled with observations about different people and so were more emotionally written, where men were more likely to record in a non-emotive, almost catalogue style.

Many historians have relied upon these diaries in order to find out more about the intimate personalities of those who have lived before us, as without those diaries, historians would have to reply upon newspaper articles and letters. Both of these can be limiting in that newspapers can be biased and articles about specific people are usually only written when something significant has happened to them such as a birth, death, marriage or scandal, and letters, due to their very nature tend not to be very confessional. It is quite rare for someone to spill their deepest secrets to a family member or friend, but they are much more willing to do so in a diary which no one may read. In this respect then, the diary is the closest historians can come to knowing a historical person without having been with them when they were alive.


So when I had looked into this and thought about it a bit more, I realised that there were several reasons why diary writing may be dying out; we are a much more conversation based society now, we know a lot more about the lives of those around us from television and mass media, and also the invention of social media allows us to record our daily lives in an almost technology based diary.

Perhaps all social media users are writing a diary, it’s just the medium that has changed. I guess we will have to wait for historians in the future to decide!

The Women Featured in my Upcoming Book

Dunham Massey in Cheshire

If you have read some of my previous blog posts you may know that I am currently writing a non-fiction book about women in the English Country House. I thought I would introduce the historical female characters who I am writing about in my book. These women were incredible characters, their strength in the face of tragedy and their desire to make an impact on the world around them, provide stories which are begging to be told.

My book is focused on the 19th century as a whole, with my oldest woman born in 1780 and my youngest dying in 1905 although there will be some historical context from the 18th and 20th centuries as we trace the world they were born into and the world they left behind.

So, with no further ado, lets meet my four incredible women, who, as I get to know them more, feel like friends . . .

Lady Mary Isham
b.1787 - d.1878

Mary was born at Elm Park in Co. Armagh in Ireland to Deborah de Robillard Champagne and Samuel Close. She met Col. Justinian Isham of Lamport Hall in Northamptonshire who was stationed in Ireland at the time as captain of the militia. They were married in 1812 and in 1818 they moved to Lamport Hall when Justinian inherited the estate and his baronetcy. Throughout their time at Lamport, Justinian was known as 'the silent baronet' due to the fact he was more interested in his library and Mary was more interested in developing the Hall. She was a strong woman, confident in her beliefs and opinions, but she was also an incredibly generous woman, giving thousands of pounds to local charities and acting as patron to charities and societies. During her time at Lamport Hall she managed the rebuild of the Hall, estate and parkland, she ensured their tenants were well looked after and she also raised a family. We will follow Mary's entire life, looking at her achievements and the incredible tragedy she suffered.

Lady Mary Isham of Lamport Hall, Northamptonshire 

(reproduced with permission of Lamport Hall Preservation Trust)

Harriet Leveson-Gower, Countess Granville
b.1785 - d.1862

Harriet is probably one of the most well-known women in my book, or rather her mother was. Born in 1785 at Devonshire House in London to Georgiana Duchess of Devonshire and William Cavendish, 5th Duke of Devonshire, she was the second daughter and was supposed to have been a boy. She was raised in the curious household of the Devonshire's, observing the odd relationship between her mother, father and Lady Elizabeth Foster, her father's mistress. She married in 1809, aged 24 to Granville Leveson Gower who had been a friend of the family for many years and who for almost a decade had been the lover of Harriet's Aunt, Lady Bessborough. This seems like an unusual set up, but considering the upbringing Harriet had, it's unlikely that she would have thought too much about it. She even welcomed her Aunt and husbands two illegitimate children into her home. I am exploring the nature of Harriet's upbringing and her unusual marriage, looking at how this influenced her later life and her position as a wife and mother.

Katherine Grey, Countess of Stamford and Warrington
b.1826 - d.1905

Katherine is my youngest woman and one of the least known, but her story is remarkable. She was born into a circus family in London and grew to become one of the most famous circus performers in London by the 1850's. She performed as a bare-back horse rider with her sister at Astley's Circus and she was spotted by the eligible George Harry Grey, 7th Earl of Stamford and Warrington who, captivated by her incredible beauty, whisked her out of her circus life, married her, and took her away to Dunham Massey, his principal estate in Cheshire. However, not everyone thought that the marriage was appropriate and the young couple found themselves having to defend their marriage, although, as a young Earl with no immediate family to control him, George Harry was used to doing whatever he wanted. They were snubbed by the gentry and even Queen Victoria before deciding they would move to Enville Hall in Staffordshire, another of the Earl's properties, where they lived happily for twenty years. In my book we look at George Harry's upbringing, his marriage to Katherine and the early years of their marriage at Dunham Massey.

Elizabeth Manners, Duchess of Rutland of Belvoir Castle

(reproduced with permission of Her Grace, Duchess of Rutland)

Elizabeth Manners, Duchess of Rutland
b.1780 - d.1825

Elizabeth is one of my favourite characters that I am writing about - although I have to admit I love them all! She was born at Castle Howard in North Yorkshire to the 5th Earl and Countess of Carlisle. She was vaguely related through marriage to Harriet whose sister Georgiana was married to Elizabeth's eldest brother George. Elizabeth married John Henry Manners, the 5th Duke of Rutlnd in 1799 when she was just 19 and moved to Belvoir Castle in Rutland. She was hugely disappointed when she arrived at the Castle, finding an outdated and dilapidated house in need of renovation and money. She took it as her mission to improve the Castle and throughout her relatively short life she worked continuously to develop the Castle that you see today. She was also unfortunately the recipient of several tragic events - losing three of her children, her eldest daughter and two baby boys, as well as a fire in 1816 which ravaged the Castle, burning away lots of her hard work. She is an incredible woman - probably the strongest of the bunch, and I can't wait for you to get to know her more.

So that's it! These are the four main women in my book. I will be making references to other women throughout the book to lend context to the period but these four women will form the bulk of the story. We will be looking at upbringing, marriage, home life, children and tragedy - following their lives and challenging our stereotypes of women of the period.

I can't wait for you to be able to read this book . . . . I just hope you like it!!

p.s.:

Please do share this webpage with your friends and family if you know they like country house history or you think they would enjoy my book!