The Stuart writer and gardener John Evelyn (1620-1706), whose two-volume Sylva is also reissued in this series, kept a diary from the age of eleven, and in the 1680s began to compile this memoir from his records. It was first published in 1818 in an edition by the antiquarian William Bray; this three-volume version of 1906 was edited by Austin Dobson (1840-1921), the author and poet who also wrote the volume on Henry Fielding in the 'English Men of Letters' series, among many other literary biographies. In an extensive preface, Dobson explains his reasons for revisiting a work which had already received much editorial attention, and his introduction gives a short biography of its author. Volume 1 begins with Evelyn's own memoir of his early life: regular entries commence in 1637, when he was a student at Oxford, and end in France in 1646.
- ISBN10 0217382754
- ISBN13 9780217382755
- Publish Date 2 January 2012 (first published 16 February 2010)
- Publish Status Unknown
- Out of Print 12 May 2016
- Publish Country US
- Imprint General Books
- Format Paperback (US Trade)
- Pages 128
- Language English