Diaries

LEARNING INTENTIONS

To use inferential skills to understand extracts from famous diaries.

Personal diaries offer a unique first-hand perspective of significant moments in history in a way that official historical records rarely can.

Famous Diaries from Extraordinary People

A famous journal can be a fascinating historical record. With some journals dating back to the thirteenth century (and sometimes even earlier), individuals from all walks of life have used them to record their innermost feelings and experiences.

These famous diary entries are incredibly valuable and offer insight and context for some of the most pivotal moments in history.

Long before the days of podcasts or YouTube soliloquies, these diaries provided us with a window into the daily life of notable people. From the travel journals written by Marco Polo, all the way up to modern-day entries by rock musicians, the journal is a great way to record a snapshot of your personal life at any given moment.

Handwritten notes by Christopher Columbus on Marco Polo’s diary.

Marco Polo (1254-1324)

One of the earliest recorded travel journals was by the Venetian merchant and explorer, Marco Polo. His journal, Livre des merveilles du monde (Book of the Marvels of the World), documented his travels to Asia, and explained to Europeans the vast size and wealth of one of the unexplored corners of the planet.

This travelogue helped to inspire the likes of Christopher Columbus on his voyage to the United States, as well as other explorers - and provided important geographic detail that had been unavailable prior to Polo’s journal.

Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519)

The Italian painter Leonardo da Vinci recorded his thoughts in a series of papers and notes, which was then put together after his death. The notebooks contain his notes on a range of topics, including mechanics and astronomy, offering an insight into da Vinci’s thought process.

Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)

One of the most renowned composers of all-time, Ludwig van Beethoven kept numerous notebooks, journals and letters which provided an indication of the man behind the compositions.

Despite a quick temper and sometimes furious demeanour, a compilation of letters released after his death revealed a different side to Beethoven. In one entry - known as the Heiligenstadt Testament - the German composer reveals his deafness, as well as a deep depression and struggles with keeping it a secret. As a diary is such a personal document, it is common for authors to use journal entries as coping mechanisms for stress.

Charles Darwin (1809-1881)

Prior to keeping a personal journal, the English geologist and biologist Charles Darwin had already achieved a degree of fame for The Voyage of the Beagle, which recorded his experiences aboard HMS Beagle from 1831 to 1836. Darwin then started keeping a personal journal in August 1838.

Darwin sometimes condensed a whole year of journal entries into one page of a 3 x 4 inch notebook, causing his son, Francis, to remark that “it [the journal]...is unfortunately written with great brevity.”

The journal does contain important and oft-quoted passages, including his impressions upon reading back his original notes from his travels to the Galapagos Islands. A full copy of the journal is available at the Darwin Online archive.

Marie Curie (1867-1934)

The first woman to win a Nobel Prize, Marie Curie pioneered research into radioactivity. Her notes and journals are on display at the Bibliothèque Nationale in Paris, with many of her discoveries contained within them.

Whilst it is widely known that Curie’s health suffered as a consequence of her work, it also impacted her belongings - and journals. Due to the potential dangers posed by the radioactive levels, French authorities keep her notebooks in lead-lined boxes and visitors to the Bibliothèque Nationale must sign a liability waiver before viewing them.

Winston Churchill (1874-1965)

Aside from serving as Prime Minister and leading Britain through the Second World War, Winston Churchill was also an accomplished writer and journalist.

Churchill’s personal thoughts from throughout his life show that, owing to his journalistic flair, he had a tendency to paint history - even in his own private musings - to favour his own reputation.

Courtney Love (1964-)

Whilst perhaps not as famous as others on this list, American musician Courtney Love’s 2006 memoir, Dirty Blonde, is an intriguing collection of journal entries and letters.

From a bleak childhood in Oregon, to lead singer with the rock band Hole, up to her tempestuous relationship with Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain, Love uses her diary entries and personal artefacts to show the highs and lows of her life in the public eye. As is the case with several diarists, Love confesses that the experience was cathartic, giving her some relief and closure.

The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank

The Diary of a Young Girl, also known as The Diary of Anne Frank, is a book of the writings from the diary kept by Anne Frank while she was in hiding for two years with her family during the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands. The family was apprehended in 1944, and Anne Frank died of typhus in the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp in 1945. The diary was retrieved by Miep Gies, who gave it to Anne's father, Otto Frank, the family's only known survivor, just after the Second World War was over. The diary has since been published in more than 70 languages.

'Will I ever be able to write something great, will I ever become a journalist or a writer? I hope so, oh, I hope so very much, because writing allows me to record everything, all my thoughts, ideals and fantasies.'

This is what Anne Frank confided in her diary on 5 April 1944. Possibly the most famous diary ever written, Anne’s inspiring and tragic account of her family’s flight during the occupation and two years hiding in an Amsterdam warehouse has enthralled readers for generations.

Read the following excerpts and answer the questions below:

November 19th 1942:

Mr. Dussel has told us much about the outside world we’ve missed for so long. He had sad news. Countless friends and acquaintances have been taken off to a dreadful fate. Night after night, green and grey military vehicles cruise the streets. They knock on every door, asking whether any Jews live there. If so, the whole family is immediately taken away. If not, they proceed to the next house. It’s impossible to escape their clutches unless you go into hiding. They often go around with lists, knocking only on those doors where they know there’s a big haul to be made. They frequently offer a bounty, so much per head. It’s like the slave hunts of the olden days… I feel wicked sleeping in a warm bed, while somewhere out there my dearest friends are dropping from exhaustion or being knocked to the ground. I get frightened myself when I think of close friends who are now at the mercy of the cruellest monsters ever to stalk the earth. And all because they’re Jews.”

How can we infer that Anne has been in hiding for some time?

In your own words describe how Jewish families would be captured.

What does Anne’s use of the word haul suggest about how the Nazis viewed Jewish families?

In what way could Anne be described as empathetic?

How does Anne make the enemy sound threatening? List 3 ways.

What can we infer from the fact that the Nazis had lists of Jewish people?

TUESDAY, MARCH 7,1944

Dearest Kitty,

When I think back to my life in 1942, it all seems so unreal. The Anne Frank who enjoyed that heavenly existence was completely different from the one who has grown wise within these walls. Yes, it was heavenly. Five admirers on every street corner, twenty or so friends, the favorite of most of my teachers, spoiled rotten by Father and Mother, bags full of candy and a big allowance. What more could anyone ask for?

You're probably wondering how I could have charmed all those people. Peter says it's because I’m "attractive," but that isn't it entirely. The teachers were amused and entertained by my clever answers, my witty remarks, my charming face and my critical mind. That's all I was: a terrible flirt, coquettish and amusing. I had a few plus points, which kept me in everybody's good graces: I was hardworking, honest and generous. I would never have refused anyone who wanted to peek at my answers, I was magnanimous with my candy, and I wasn't stuck-up.

Would all that admiration eventually have made me overconfident? It's a good thing that, at the height of my glory, I was suddenly plunged into reality. It took me more than a year to get used to doing without admiration.

How did they see me at school? As the class comedian, the eternal ringleader, never in a bad mood, never a crybaby. Was it any wonder that everyone wanted to bicycle to school with me or do me little favours?

How does Anne describe her life before going into hiding?

Anne says she is “wiser.” What evidence is there of this in paragraph one?

What does she think were the reasons for her popularity?

Explain why Anne thinks it was a good thing that she was “suddenly plunged into reality.”

In your own words describe the main differences between this extract and extract one.

Writing Portfolio Task 5

Journals: Captain Scott's Last Expedition

by Robert Falcon Scott

Had we lived, I should have had a tale to tell of the hardihood, endurance, and courage of my companions which would have stirred the heart of every Englishman.’

First published in 1913, Captain Scott's harrowing account of his expedition to the South Pole in 1910-12 has become the stuff of legend.

Scott’s diaries, discovered with his body, caught the public imagination in a way few tales of exploration ever have. The Polar Party’s unflagging stamina, bravery, and spirit on their tragic return from the South Pole after finding they had been beaten to their goal by the Norwegian Roald Amundsen is as gripping and inspiring as any fiction.

The final entries – written in his last days, while hopelessly trapped in a tiny tent by a raging blizzard on the Great Ice Barrier – are among the most poignant and haunting passages ever written.

Captain Scott tried to be the first to reach the South Pole, and kept a diary of his daily progress. His final entry explained how a fierce blizzard had stopped his expedition just 11 miles (18km) away from one of the places they’d stored their supplies.

Extracts from Scott’s diary

These are extracts from the diary of Robert Falcon Scott, written on his expedition to the South Pole. Read the extracts and try to imagine what the experience must have been like for Scott and his men.

What do we get from reading this personal diary about a significant moment in history that we might not get from reading official historical records?

Other famous diaries

Frida Kahlo (1907-1954)

Painter Frida Kahlo's powerful and brightly-colored canvases incorporated bold and surreal imagery inspired by Mexican folklore, and representing the country's native plants and animals, and she is recognized as one of the most important artists of the 20th century. The written and illustrated diaries she kept during the last 10 years of her life — published as "The Diary of Frida Kahlo: An Intimate Self-Portrait(opens in new tab)" (Abrams, 2005) — offer a glimpse not only of her creative process, but of her tumultuous relationship with her husband, artist Diego Rivera.

"All of you in a space full of sounds — in the shade and in the light. You were called AUXOCHROME the one who captures color. I CHROMOPHORE — the one who gives color," Kahlo wrote to Diego in an undated letter.

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