Diary of William Bray (Extracts from the Diary of William Bray, Esq. 1756–1800, and His Subsequent Memoranda)
William BraySpottiswoode & Co.1876
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- The English Novel Collection
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Biography General Biography Local SocietySocial LifeAntiquarian StudyMemoirPrivate Diary18th Century EnglandGeorgian EraEnglish CountrysideSummary
This book is an edited selection from the private diary of William Bray (1736–1832), an English lawyer and antiquary. Bray was born in Shere, Surrey, attended Rugby School, and later studied law under an attorney in Guildford. From 1761 he served for many years as clerk of the royal Board of Green Cloth, while also practicing law in Surrey and managing estate affairs. A lifelong enthusiast for local history and antiquarian research, he served as council member and treasurer of the Society of Antiquaries of London, completed Manning's History of Surrey, and transcribed the diary of John Evelyn. The diary collected here runs from 1756 to 1800, followed by subsequent memoranda. The entries are mostly brief and scattered, recording card games, tea parties, dinners, horse races, theater visits, calls on country neighbors, illnesses, and bereavements, while also offering observations on royal affairs, legal business, and changes in local society. Such a diary was not written for publication; its plain language and concrete detail make it a primary source for understanding the rhythm of daily life, social networks, and everyday mentality in eighteenth-century rural and upper-middle-class England. According to records, Bray's diary was first printed privately by his family in 1876 and later excerpted and reprinted in publications such as the Surrey Archaeological Collections; a volume of his diary from 1755 has attracted attention for predating previously known material and for containing what may be the earliest recorded use of the word "baseball."Editor's review
这是一部“不起眼却珍贵”的文献。它没有情节，也没有华丽的修辞，却把一个18世纪英国绅士的生活逐日铺开：白天处理法律与庄园事务，晚上在牌桌与茶会之间往返，家书里夹杂着孩子的夭折与妻子的离世。正因其琐碎，读者才能看见正史之外的时间质感——人们如何度日、如何社交、如何面对疾病与死亡。 对历史读者，它是观察乔治王朝时期英格兰地方社会的放大镜；对写作与研究者，它是可用的细节库，涉及服饰、物价、娱乐、礼仪与乡村交通。布雷本人是古物学家，也是伊夫林日记的整理者，这重身份让他的记录带有自觉的“存档”意味。另值得留意的是，他早年日记中出现的“baseball”字样常被早期体育史研究引用，使这份私人文本意外地进入了体育史的讨论。 需要提醒的是：本书条目零散、人物众多且缺少注释，阅读门槛不在文辞而在背景。建议以“翻读”而非“通读”的方式使用它，把它当作一本可以随手打开、随手放下的时代切片。Who it's for
A good fit for
- 对18世纪英国社会日常生活与地方史感兴趣的读者
- 历史写作、文学创作中需要时代生活细节作为素材的人
- 研究日记文体、私人文献与自传材料的研究者
- 喜欢《佩皮斯日记》《伊夫林日记》一类文本的读者
Not a good fit for
- 期待连贯情节、人物弧线的虚构作品读者
- 没有背景知识、希望一次读懂全部人事关系的入门读者
- 需要现代汉语译注本、习惯依赖注释阅读的读者
Reading tips
- 先读卷首的“MEMOIR”小传，理清布雷的家世、职业与社交圈，再进入正文条目。
- 以年份为线索跳跃式阅读，重点关注1760年代与1790年代的段落，可见其生活重心的变化。
- 备一份英国地名与18世纪人物词典在手边，遇人名地名随时查对，避免因陌生感而放弃。
- 把它当史料与素材书使用：按主题（饮食、娱乐、疾病、丧葬）摘录，比按时间通读更有效。
About the publisher
Spottiswoode & Co.Spottiswoode & Co. is a publisher whose output leans toward biography and diary literature. Public information about the firm is limited: neither its founding year nor its country or region is clearly recorded, and only one title is held in the collection. Its representative publication is Diary of William Bray by William Bray (Extracts from the Diary of William Bray, Esq. 1756–1800, and His Subsequent Memoranda), which falls under biography and general biography. The book consists mainly of extracts from the diary together with subsequent memoranda, presenting William Bray's personal records and observations of his time. This suggests that the firm has focused on editing and issuing personal diaries and reminiscent documentary works, with its author resources centered on such diarists and their manuscripts.
FAQ
这本书是一部小说吗？
不是。它是威廉·布雷私人日记的摘编，属于日记体文献与回忆录性质，而非虚构小说。书中多为日常记事，缺乏连贯情节，读者不宜按小说期待来读。为什么它会被收进“英文名著”合集？
该书长期属公共领域，被古登堡计划等平台收录，并因涉及18世纪英国生活与早期“baseball”记载而广被引用，因而常出现在英文经典与公版书合集中；但其文体是日记而非小说。书里真的提到了“baseball”吗？
据相关研究介绍，布雷1755年的一册日记中出现了“base”或“baseball”一类记载，被认为可能是该词最早的书面用例之一，常被早期体育史研究引用；但本书所收正文起于1756年，相关条目未必见于本书。读这本书需要什么样的英文水平？
原文为18世纪英语，拼写、标点与句法与今日略有差异，但多为简短记事，词汇并不艰深。具备一般英文阅读能力即可，遇到旧式拼写与专名时可借助词典。This site is an index: you start “Search all sources” in your browser, and the entries it lists all point to third-party sites; please judge their availability yourself.
About the author
William Bray AuthorPublicly available information on the life of William Bray is currently limited: neither his dates of birth and death nor his nationality have been clearly recorded, and only two works are known to bear his name. His representative work is Diary of William Bray, which gathers extracts from his diary covering the years 1756 to 1800 together with his subsequent memoranda, and belongs to the genre of diary writing and memoir. The work is generally classified under biography, general biography, history and oral history. Its content consists chiefly of personal daily records and observations, combining documentary value with the immediacy of private narrative. His style is plain and unadorned, presenting through a first-person perspective the details of everyday life and the social conditions of a particular period. Because further background information is lacking, his profile can only be understood through these surviving works.