Anne Lister's Journal Mentions

Why References to Journals Matter

Anne Lister left behind 25 volumes of meticulously kept journals (along with one additional "volume" containing loose diary notes from her early years) and 14 travel journals, in which she documented the intimate details of her life, thoughts, and experiences. Her remarkable commitment to maintaining such a comprehensive record over many years has already been recognized as worthy of acclaim, with her journals being added to the UNESCO Memory of the World Programme in 2011.

Throughout her journals, Lister often reflected on the act of writing itself, highlighting its therapeutic and cathartic qualities. She also made frequent references to revisiting her own entries, either for comfort or as a reliable source of information and a personal account of past events. These references offer a unique insight into the significance of this immense personal endeavor and the central role journaling played in her life.

Moreover, Lister's journals were not merely private reflections; her meticilous habit was known and commented upon by others in her circle, eliciting curiosity and comments about her writings, which Lister often recorded in her own journals.  These interactions shed light on the social dynamics surrounding her journaling and the attitudes towards diarists of that period.

This project seeks to compile references to Lister's journaling habits to better understand the diverse roles her journals played in her life—their personal significance and the impact keeping them had on her.

In addition to noting references to Anne Lister's journals, this spreadsheet will also include mentions of the diaries or journals of others found in her writings and correspondence. This is an important aspect, as it may help confirm the existence of other diaries that remain undiscovered in archives or private collections.

Should these additional journals be located or transcribed in the future, they could offer complementary perspectives, enriching our understanding of Anne Lister's own narrative. may also reveal journaling as a shared practice within Lister's social circle, and how those journals may have similarly served as personal repositories of thought, historical documentation, or even social currency. 

How to contribute to this project

1. Request access to edit the spreadsheet. Please include an email address that is associated with a Google account (this is the only requirement to participating in this project). If you don't have one, here's how to do it.

2. You will receive an email confirming you have editorial access.

3. Once granted access, you can add a new item to the bottom of the list. 

Tip: Don't worry about redundancy; enter any information you have and we'll reconcile duplicates later.

All information in this spreadsheet is in English, but please preserve the spellings as written by Anne Lister and others (yes, the butchered foreign words too).

Anyone can help research and add additional information for each references in this spreadsheet.