The Diary of Joshua Whiting (1820-1909) of Hitchin, Hertfordshire From 1861 to 1873 Citizen, Countryman and Quaker Complied by Sarah Graham �9.50 ISBN 1 85072 318 4 Ebor Press (Sessions of York)

The Diary of Joshua Whiting, banker's clerk and amateur beekeeper, covers the years 1861-1873. It has survived by chance and as well as being a valuable historical document it is an absorbing window into the life and hobby of a prominent citizen, countryman and Quaker of the period. It will be of special interest to the residents of Hitchin, gardeners, bankers and beekeepers or indeed anyone interested in how a quiet life was lived in unquiet times.

The beautiful cover for Joshua Whiting�s diary was contrived by the Ebor Press from that of Thomas Miller�s Common Wild Flowers, illustrated by Birket Foster. On the flyleaf of my copy is pasted a letter from Elizabeth, wife of James Hack Tuke, to Rebecca Whiting on her return to Hitchin with Joshua after their wedding tour. Its cover caught my eye when I found the book in a dilapidated second-hand bookshop in Hitchin Churchyard sometime during the war. I knew nothing of Elizabeth or Rebecca, and had no idea that this book had any family connections, but fell for its charm, probably spending no more than a shilling. The coincidence of its finding and safe survival is powerful, and just one of the many happy chances that have run through the project of compiling Joshua�s diary.