| Description | These diaries and journals largely relate to specific events in Charlotte's life and it therefore appears that she did not keep a daily diary as a matter of course.
One diary in three parts relates to her father's last illness and death in 1809; another diary relates to a lengthy visit back to England from Ghent in 1819-1820 and one journal contains a record of two short tours undertaken on the continent in 1818; a two part diary relates to her experiences as a member of the Queen Adelaide's household at Windsor Castle in September 1833;
Some of these diaries are maintained as a daily record. However, two contain entries which are kept in the form of a dialogue between her head and her heart and this format allows Charlotte to write about her personal feelings such as those relating to her emotions about their decision to move from England to Belgium in 1816. Other volumes contain retrospective accounts in the form of continuous prose. For example, the diary she maintained during her care of Princess Louisa of Saxe Weimar at Brighton ends with a summary account of her remaining time there following the arrival of Court when she was relieved of her charge.
These diaries and journals complement and enhance the family correspondence. The first diary relating to her father's final illness in 1809, for example, includes some information about a visit to Bath the previous year in the company of her parents and describes new acquaintances she made. Five of the volumes postdate the series of family correspondence and these all relate to a different stage of her life, as the Dowager Lady Jerningham, following the death of her husband in 1829. One journal, kept in early 1830, records a period of time when she lodged at Hammersmith Convent. Other diaries record her some of her experiences as a member of Queen Adelaide's royal household where she was a Woman of the Bedchamber between 1830 and 1837.
The main sequence of correspondence also includes two short accounts, which record the daily events, surrounding her return to England on the death of her brother, Edward and the subsequent death of her sister-in-law, Emily in June 1822 (see JER/1532 and JER/1534) |