The transcription and notation of Elizabeth Fry's journal 1780-1845

Abstract

This thesis proposes to explain the production of Fry's journal and make available to researchers a full transcription of the autobiographical journal of Elizabeth Fry. This journal tells Fry's life story in an episodic diary format that encapsulates the last forty-eight years of her life. The justification for the production of the transcription and the motivation behind It: The thesis will investigate the importance of Fry's Journal in the evolution of the diary genre. It will justify the huge undertaking entailed in making a full transcription of Fry's journal and will discuss the condition of the journal books and their different locations. How these factors contributed to the delay in producing a transcription earlier will be considered. What motivated Fry to write her journal and what influenced her to continue the process unabated for all her adult life? The reasons Fry had originally given for her journal production changed as her journal evolved and her life priorities changed. I will investigate the destruction of Fry's early journal books and her reasoning behind such editorial interference and her motivation for keeping others. Finally this section will close with an analysis of Fry's journal in order to establish what class within the diary genre it belongs. Dyslexia and its effect on Fry's journal text and the editorial procedures adopted: This part of this thesis discusses the indicators of dyslexia within the journal text and their effect on the journal's production. I explain the resulting methodology adopted to alleviate the destructive effect that dyslexia had on the journal text. I have limited the editorial interventions undertaken when producing the transcription as I wished to maintain the integrity of Fry's journal. The final part of the thesis evaluates Fry's journal by making a comparison with a contemporary journal. The journal I used for comparison was written by Deborah Darby, a woman who shared many of Fry's life experiences. This thesis will establish Fry's journal as belonging to that elite group of great diarists that includes Pepys. The appendices: these consist of a short biography of Fry with a published work explaining her role in the founding of modern nursing. A glossary of Quakers and the Gurney family terminology and finally a bibliography and the first two books, from Fry's journal with notes.