Hester Lynch Piozzi Thraliana

A manuscript diary kept by Hester Lynch Piozzi, from 1776 to 1809; with anecdotes, autobiographical fragments, marginal notes, and some correspondence copied into the volumes. In 1776, her husband, Henry Thrale, gave her the six blank diary books with the title "Thraliana" on the covers. Though called a diary, the work was intended to be like a French "Ana" which was a gathering of anecdotes; the English model was called a "Table-talk" and was meant to gather together anecdotes, quotations, observations, stories, verses, and whatever the author wished to remember. The focus of the first volumes is Samuel Johnson as they contain anecdotes and stories about his life; Piozzi used these as a basis for her "Anecdotes of the Late Samuel Johnson" (1786). After Henry Thrale died in April 1781, the work became more of a diary of her thoughts and life. The volumes are covered in unfinished calf with red labels with the title "Thraliana" on the front cover of each volume. All of the volumes have a ruled left hand margin which contain comments, dates, and other information deemed important by Piozzi.