Welcome to The Journal of Louisa Lushington
In 1821 Louisa Lushington left Naples, with her family and sailed for England. Over the the next two years Louisa kept an intermittent journal recalling her days activities, the people she met and what she thought of them.
This blog provides an audio recording of the daily entries, a map of places mentioned in the diary and biographies (where possible) of the people Louisa encountered and other historical facts or relevant bits of information which may prove interesting.
The manuscript of Louisa’s diary is held at Chawton House and the journal has been transcribed by volunteers at Chawton and is available from their shop. I highly recommend reading it as well as visiting Chawton itself. The text of Louisa’s journal was transcribed by Linda Slothouber, who also provides detailed research into Louisa’s family, background and life.
The blog is run by me, Kate Shaw, currently a final-year PhD student in early modern women’s writing, but with an interest in any women’s writing pre-20th century (and post!) My goal is to amplify women’s voices and experiences through their own words, which is why I have such an interest in bringing Louisa’s story to life. This is a pet project so isn’t peer-reviewed or checked by anyone else, but I do make the information as well-researched and accurate as I can. Updates will likely be irregular. I will definitely mis-pronounce some names…
I hope you enjoy following Louisa’s journey, sometimes funny, sometimes sad but always an insight into the life of this fascinating individual.
The Journal of Louisa Lushington, 1821-1822 