An Edinburgh Diary
BY AGNES WITTS EDITED BY ALAN SUTTON
FONTHILL MEDIA £25
These detailed and diligent entries provide an insight into what life was like as a prominent member of society at a time when the city was rapidly evolving and expanding. Agnes Witts’s diaries provide a fascinating window into the lives of Edinburgh’s wealthier residents in the late 18th century. The writer and her family arrived in Edinburgh from Gloucestershire in the summer of 1793, and lived in the city for five years. Her diaries offer the reader a glimpse into the past through her stories and viewpoints on her own family, friends, and what it was like to live in Edinburgh at a time of enormous change. Within the first year of the Witts family being in the capital, they had managed to build a wide circle of friends and establish themselves fully in Edinburgh’s high society. The expanding city was becoming a dynamic and prosperous place, and the Witts family made the most of the culture and society they called home. Agnes herself was popular; her zest for life and remarkable personality were obvious to all. She often found herself restless and in need of stimulation, thus many diary entries include her visits to friends, church, and her walks around the city, creating a vivid account of life in Edinburgh during this period. A woman of unshakable faith, Agnes did however enjoy playing cards, as well as interacting with her wide social circles – she recounts many stimulating conversations.
’A day without a letter was a dark day in her life. Periods of serious illness were the main reason behind any gaps in her diary’
Sutton edits this sixty two piece collection of diary entries penned by Agnes in the years 1788 to 1824. A woman of structure and conviction, Sutton preserves her diligence in his editing process, retaining a true and just portrayal of the woman she was. From 20 of April 1788, Agnes barely missed a diary entry until her final submission, made on Christmas Day 1824, just two weeks before her death at the age of seventy-six. The thoroughness of these diaries covers topics such as the weather, how she and her family spent their days, and the correspondences she sent and received. Her commitment to her cause was remarkable – for almost forty years she maintained a wide correspondence with her large social circle and family. A day without a letter was a dark day in her life; any gaps in her diary were invariably caused by periods of serious illness, otherwise she was a relentless chronicler of her own life.
In these entries, Agnes allows us passage to a world wholly alien to today’s society – the fascinating intricacies of her middle-upper class activities are beautifully recorded, when Edinburgh was rife with social change and selfconsciously establishing itself the ‘Athens of the North’. This is the first detailed study on Witts’ rich and interesting life, drawing from her meticulously detailed diaries and musings. The result is a beautifully illustrated piece of Scottish history.