Talks & Lectures Sarah Gristwood – Secret Voices: A Year of Women’s Diaries

A groundbreaking anthology of women’s diaries from the last four centuries, with a captivating selection of extracts for every day of the year

Featuring more than a hundred diarists, some famous, others less familiar, Secret Voices is a rich treasury of women’s experience through the years and across the world, from Lady Anne Clifford dealing with an unreasonable 17th century husband, to a teenage Ma Yan yearning for education in the 21st. Here, also, are first-hand accounts of historic events: Queen Victoria’s accession to the throne, the Kennedy assassination, and life and loss through two World Wars. By turns tragic and hilarious, this fascinating book provides an essential insight into the lives of women from a spectrum of backgrounds throughout history.

Sarah Gristwood is a biographer, journalist and commentator on royal affairs. Her previous books include the bestselling Arbella: England’s Lost Queen, The Tudors in Love, and biographies of Beatrix Potter, Churchill and Queen Elizabeth II. She is a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society and the RSA, and regularly contributes to TV series and news channels including the BBC, CNN and Sky.