Historical Diaries

Emmaline MacKenzie, only daughter to the famed MacKenzie family that founded McLeary, Iowa, grew up with a silver spoon in her mouth. She was groomed to be an asset to any man who was chosen by her father. Having graduated from finishing school in the early 1900s, Emmaline was the epitome of a well-behaved woman even though in her heart she leaned toward the values of the suffragettes who marched so that modern women could enjoy equality. It wasn’t long after the marriage to her father’s business partner that Emmaline found out the hard way that life was not a happily ever after fairytale.

Elle fut avant tout une star européenne de beauté et de vertu. Sa célébrité rehaussa l'importance de son salon au point que le nom de Récamier est devenu un symbole dans tous les salons. Chateaubriand fut son seul véritable amour.

Miss Sophie Kendall is happiest arranging the secret meetings of the Debutante Underground, a group of women who come together to discuss the weekly advice column The Debutante’s Revenge. What makes Sophie most unhappy is her impending march down the aisle to a man she does not love. But her family’s finances are in increasingly dire straits.

In 1783, an important disputation took place in Minsk between leading Mitnagdic geonim and R. Schneur Zalman of Liadi. The debate centered around R. Schneur Zalman's philosophy, which was based on the teachings of the Baal Shem Tov - teachings that the Mitnagdim vehemently opposed. Penned by Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn, sixth Lubavitcher Rebbe, The Debate in Minsk presents the background and story of this landmark event.

This first installment of Historical Sketches, focuses on the organizational skills of the Chabad-Lubavitch leaders, describing their far-reaching efforts on behalf of the social and communal well-being of their brethren, beginning with the founder of the movement, Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi, known as the Alter Rebbe.

Anne Frank’s The Diary of a Young Girl is more than a historical document—it is a timeless exploration of the human spirit, capturing resilience, hope, and the complexities of identity in the face of unimaginable adversity. This in-depth analysis examines Anne’s personal journey during her two years in hiding, revealing the universal struggles of adolescence, the moral implications of war, and the enduring power of her words. Through her vivid reflections, Anne grapples with themes of self-discovery, family dynamics, and the search for meaning in a world torn apart by hatred and intolerance.

A hopeful and heartwarming story about finding joy after tragedy, Amil and the After is a companion to the beloved and award-winning Newbery Honor novel The Night Diary, by acclaimed author Veera Hiranandani At the turn of the new year in 1948, Amil and his family are trying to make a home in...

What if Eve, the mother of all humankind, had blogged? What if she had shared her discoveries of the newly formed world, her experiments as the first scientist, and her travels as the first explorer? What if she shared the secrets of assisting the first man without damaging the first fragile male ego? What if we could enjoy with her the first falling in love? Perhaps she did. Perhaps we can. Perhaps somehow Mark Twain plucked that first "blog" out of the cosmic ether....

Considered one of the greatest—and most influential—writers of the twentieth century, Marcel Proust was also one of its most fascinating figures. A strange, reclusive genius who often lay in bed for days at a time obsessively rewriting his masterpiece, Remembrance of Things Past, Proust was...

The start of a brilliantly funny accidental time-travel diary series for tweens. It’s Back to the Future meets Judy Blume, with a 13-year-old girl who tackles timeslip mishaps, laugh-out-loud embarrassing moments, and one unpredictable adventure after another. Hi! I’m Lily. My birthday is in...

As the celebrated author of Akenfield, Ronald Blythe, turns 100 this year, Next to Nature brings together a seasonal collection from the very best of a lifetime of writing. Ronald Blythe lives at the end of an overgrown farm track deep in the rolling countryside of the Stour Valley, on the...

Step into the heart of East London through the eyes of Elizabeth Cooper as she reflects on three turbulent decades of life, love, and survival. From the cobbled streets of Masthead Lane to the shadow of the Great War and the challenges of making ends meet, Elizabeth's story captures the resilience of working-class families as they navigate a rapidly changing world.

Майстер корабля — письменницький дебют Юрія Яновського. Це модерністський роман, стилізований під мемуари, який передає атмосферу 20-х років двадцятого століття. Він має ознаки пригодницького, автобіографічного і водночас утопічного та мариністичного фантастичного романів. Текст побудовано як спогад оповідача й головного персонажа, але в його структуру також вплетено менші тексти, відмінні за жанром та стилістикою — це листи, фантазії, мрії, перекази, ідеї сценаріїв тощо. Таким чином читач стає свідком захопливого кількарівневого дистанціювання від реальності.

She was born behind the walls of the big house, raised to serve a master who was also her father. But survival under his roof came at a cruel cost. Rose knows the horrors hidden behind lace curtains and Sunday prayers. She knows what it means to be owned, to be silenced, to be broken and expected to smile through it. When a moment of bloodshed shatters the chains holding her in place, Rose flees into a world just as dangerous as the one she left behind. Hunted, wounded, and haunted, she journeys toward something she’s only ever heard whispered about—freedom.

An unforgettable literary masterpiece written over 200 years ago by a remarkable woman during the struggle and fall of Europe's first attempt at a constitutional democracy. A coming-of-age story, love drama, and historical saga all in one, it unfolds more like a novel than an authentic memoir. Despite its epoch, the highs and lows of Countess Anna's journey reverberate with timeless issues that still affect us all today. This courageous young woman wrote down extraordinarily visceral details of the horrendous experiences she was living through between 1791 and 1795

A spirited exploration of the diary, from pen-and-paper to TikTok, for the people who write—and read—them Featuring iconic diary keepers like Audre Lorde, Virginia Woolf, Alison Bechdel, and Taylor Swift We know what it was like to be an out lesbian in 19th-century England, what the inner...

During an antiques roadshow appraisal of a secretary desk, a secret compartment is discovered containing a 19th-century document that is now known as The Diary of a Dead Man. The diary was written by Logan, a man awaiting his death by hanging for the murders of four men. Join Logan as he reflects on his life's tumultuous journey that led him to this point and the love that drove him to murder.

In April 1938, a man calling himself Josef Hofmann arrives at a boarding house in Hamm, Germany, and lets a room from the widow who owns it. Fifty years later, Walter Gersdorff, the widow's son, who was 11 years old in the spring of 1938, discovers the carefully hidden diary the boarder had kept during his stay, even though he should never have written any of its contents down. What Walter finds is a scathing chronicle of one the most tumultuous years in German history, narrated by a secret agent on a deadly mission.

As headmistress of the Scarfield Academy for Young Ladies, Miss Charlotte Boscastle is tasked with keeping her charges free from notoriety. But when Charlotte's diary goes missing, she can't imagine having her most intimate secrets fall into the wrong hands. Although the confessions in the diary he found spark his interest, the Duke of Wynfield has every intention of returning the journal. But when Gideon's encounter with Charlotte takes on an unexpectedly passionate nature, his indiscretion causes a scandal that only marriage can cure.

This exploration of the private wartime diary of Alfred Rosenberg—Hitler’s “chief philosopher” and architect of Nazi ideology—interweaves the story of its recent discovery with the revelation of its never-before-published contents, which are contextualized by the authors: The result is...