A Book of One's Own

Before the age of social media, chronicling one’s life was a private matter. In this literary tour through the notable diaries of history, Thomas Mallon is a witty guide to the personal journals of the famous and infamous, bringing to life their neuroses, artistic practices, and preoccupations.

Virginia Woolf casts her sharp eye on friends and acquaintances. Samuel Pepys chronicles political life in Restoration England. Sylvia Plath’s notebooks are filled with images she will turn into poems. F. Scott Fitzgerald records overheard conversations while Leonardo da Vinci scribbles down his dreams. Anaïs Nin treats her diary as a tell-all, reflecting on love, sex, and death across several volumes and decades.