Secrets of a Victorian Lady: A Glimpse into 80 Years of Diary Writing

I loved reading this account of a completely different world, so reminiscent of Downton Abbey or the old ‘Upstairs, Downstairs’ TV series.

“I have resolved to write all that befalls me with the greatest exactness”, so reads the first diary entry of Louisa Thomas when she was aged 16.

Louisa was an energetic, cultured woman who faithfully wrote a journal for most of her long life.

Her father was one of the wealthy Goldsmids, her mother was of Huguenot descent. She writes about her time as a girl in Paris, a spinster in Brighton, as well as her six month honeymoon grand tour of Europe. She describes life at her new Hollingbourne home and how she attends many a ball, whirling away the hours until dawn. Her six children are mere bumps in the road and she soon passes them to the wet nurses whilst she continues with visits from prominent guests such as Alfred Lord Tennyson and Charles Kean, and visited London for exhibitions and events with her husband Richard.

You can find the link to Louisa's journal here: https://www.synjonbooks.co.uk/product-page/the-journal-of-a-victorian-lady-louisa-thomas-of-hollingbourne

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