Kilvert's Diary

"The Diary, which paints a unique picture of country life in mid-Victorian times, has come to be recognised as a minor classic; its author has been compared to Dorothy Wordsworth, whom he admired, and even Pepys." - William Plomer

"The best picture of quiet vicarage life in Victorian England that has yet been given us." - John Betjeman

The diaries of Robert Francis Kilvert (1840-1879), kept from 1870 to 1879, are a unique treasury celebrating the Welsh and English countryside and the variety of characters inhabiting it, seen through the perspective of a sensitive, lyrical and witty young clergyman.

This newly edited selection, based on the work of his editor William Plomer, offers all the variety of Kilvert's delightful prose, and includes his descriptions of travels to places such as Bath, Bristol, Cornwall, Liverpool, London and Worcester and his encounters with interesting people of his era, whether known only in their community or nationwide.