Jessy’s Journal

The journal of Jessy Harden presents a fascinating picture of life in the upper echelons of society.

The journal comprises letters sent to her sister Agnes in India, some 70,000 words preserved in the National Library of Scotland and transcribed by Dr Sue Owen. Using the resource of more than 500 pictures in the Abbot Hall Gallery mostly donated by Harden’s great grandson, A.S.Clay, these letters have been matched by editor Maurice Dybeck to give a rare juxtaposition illustrating late Georgian social life in the Lake District