Historical Diaries

From the New York Times bestselling author of Always and Blackberry Winter, a heartbroken woman stumbles upon a diary and steps into the life of its anonymous author. In her twenties, Emily Wilson was on top of the world: she had a bestselling novel, a husband plucked from the pages of GQ...

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

Sir Barnes Wallis CBE became a household name after the hit 1954 film The Dam Busters in which Michael Redgrave portrayed a shy, slightly abstracted genius at odds with bureaucracy. Yet this was a simplified picture of a complicated, mercurial man. Wallis' contribution to British aircrafts and weapons is legendary; from the R100 intercontinental airship and innovative aircrafts like the Wellesley and Wellington, to bombs that destroyed hitherto invulnerable targets, and variable-geometry aerodynes.

Mary fears she’s losing the two people she most admires—her lover and her father—after she’s lost her reputation. She regains them with the publication of Frankenstein. As Scott is crafting his biography of the Shelleys and Godwins a century later, he fears that he’s losing his audience and his wife. He regains them with the publication of his other “work” he’s authoring at the same—The Great Gatsby. As eternal celebrities of Western culture—the Shelleys, the Godwins, and the Fitzgeralds—their brief victories are dramatically retold in What Light Was as dialogues, verse, and meditations.

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...

Eva Reich never felt she had to choose between the worlds of her Jewish father and Christian mother. History chose for her. Poland, 1941. From the moment she stepped off the freight train that brought her family to Auschwitz, Eva Reich fought for her survival. From growing up surrounded by her Christian relatives in Berlin, she is thrown into the Jewish work camps of Nazi-occupied Poland. There, she experiences cruelty, intimidation, and hatred. But also kindness, fearlessness, and bravery--from the people she least expected.

John L. Ransom was taken prisoner in 1863 when his regiment was split into two smaller forces in East Tennessee. He was placed into Andersonville Prison, formerly known as Camp Sumter. Ransom wrote a journal, published in 1881, on his experiences in the camp. Andersonville was the worst of Confederate prison camps, where hundreds of prisoners died daily. Ransom’s diary is important as it provides information on the notorious Andersonville prison camp that may not have been known otherwise.

Lincoln's Diary is a fast-paced story about a young woman's determination to unbury secrets, including the disappearance of a private Lincoln diary her mysterious grandfather once owned. And when she hunts down a professor who likely swindled her mother out of it so he could prove Lincoln planned his own assassination, she's accused of his murder. Running from police and a stalker who's bent on destroying any evidence the diary exists, Sarah turns to the only person she trusts - herself.

The treasury's coffers are bare, and tensions with the powerful Dutch Republic are boiling over. And now, an investigator sent by the king to look into corruption at the Royal Navy has been brutally murdered. Loathe to leave the pleasures of London, Samuel Pepys is sent dragging his feet to Portsmouth to find the truth about what happened. Aided by his faithful assistant, Will Hewer, he soon exposes the killer. But has he got the right person? And if the mystery isn't solved in time, then England could be thrown into a war that would have devastating consequences....

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.

It has the beginnings of a romance novel that are now so prevalent. Our heroine goes on a European tour with her papa and brother to take her away from a glorious Irish love object. It is light and amusing. In it, you can see the beginnings of modern Regency romance novels, and the language used is of its age and so very subtle.

The harshness of 19th-century life for women as seen through the eyes of a young bride. Margery Blake is nothing but a pawn in family affairs and her marriage is seen as a good match. Margery has no power, no voice, no control over her own life and endures her husband's rights to her body in order to produce an heir. Margery soon learns 'husband' is merely another title for owner, beater, brute, bully, evil. Yet, she finds friendships in the most unlikeliest places.

This is a sensible book. I want you to understand that. This is a book to improve your mind. In this book, I tell you all about Germany – at all events all I know about Germany – and the Ober-Ammorgau Passion Play. I also tell you about other things. I do not tell you all I know about all these other things because I do not want to swamp you with knowledge. I wish to teach you gradually. I should only be defeating my own object that I, by making you think too much at first, give you a perhaps lasting dislike to the exercise.

A story bubbling with Jerome's wit and whimsy, this tale fully deserves its place in the sun.

It is 1522, in Bruges, The Spanish Netherlands. Juan Luis Vives, a renowned academic, born into a Jewish family in Valencia in 1492 has fled Spain to avoid the fires of the Inquisition. Even here, though, he is not safe and he finds that the 'eyes and ears' of the king of Spain are far-reaching. With the net closing in, England's Sir Thomas More offers him the role of tutor to Mary, daughter of Catherine of Aragon and Henry VIII; he eagerly accepts.

Discover the story of Australia in the Great War through the eyes and stories of John Murray - a would-be journalist, aspiring artist, and young soldier. John’s dairies capture the history, events, and experiences of Australians, as each instalment builds to tell the story of Australia’s journey from peacetime through to the war’s end. Share a young Australian’s hopes, his insights, and his pain, as war changes the fabric of his world and his family.

England, 1441: Lady Eleanor Cobham, Duchess of Gloucester, hopes to become Queen of England before her interest in astrology and her husband's ambition leads their enemies to accuse her of a plot against the king. Eleanor is found guilty of sorcery and witchcraft. Rather than have her executed, King Henry VI orders Eleanor to be imprisoned for life.

Allahabad Diary: An Uncommon Tale delves into the struggles of Hindi-medium students aspiring to clear the Civil Services Examination and become IAS officers. Parallel to this narrative is the poignant story of Shanti, a young widow grappling with the pain of her husband’s loss, the loneliness of her son leaving for a foreign land, and the isolation that ensues. Shanti’s journey raises critical questions about today’s society, viewed through the lens of her suffering and resilience.

While on his first hunt with his father, young Kimbo is kidnapped from the jungles of Africa to become part of the 19th-century Virginia slave trade. Sold like property to various masters, he makes his escape after he's entered into a boxing match against a big man named Barnyard Willie. In the midst of his escape, he comes upon a lost little White girl, and as he tries to help her, a family of kidnappers descend upon them and grab both him and the girl, until "nobody" sets them free.

The year is 1814, and springtime is in full bloom at Pemberley. Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy have married. But now a new romance is in the air, along with high fashion, elegant manners, scandal, deception, and the wonderful hope of a true and lasting love. Shy Georgiana Darcy has been content to remain unmarried, living at Pemberley with her brother and his new bride and convinced that the one man she secretly cares for will never love her in return.