Publications

The Diary has never before been published in full. It first became known in the 1920s, when John Beresford edited a five-volume abridgement, The Diary of a Country Parson. Although this edition is very pleasant to handle and contains much useful background information, it suffers from two disadvantages. Firstly, it is very unbalanced. Volume I covers the first 24 years of the Diary, including Woodforde's life at Oxford, the Somerset curacies and the first six years in Norfolk. The remaining volumes (II-V) cover the remaining 21 years in Norfolk. Therefore, the picture of Woodforde's early life is necessarily sketchy. Secondly, the quality of John Beresford's editing is open to criticism. Such criticism relates to the selections made (which are, of course, a matter of personal taste), and the quality of the transcription; though the latter is more likely to be of concern to the specialist than to the general reader.

A one-volume abridgement of the original Beresford edition has been published (also called The Diary of a Country Parson) in a variety of formats, and has been very popular. Indeed, it has probably introduced more people to the Diary than has any other edition, and is by far the easiest edition to find in secondhand bookshops.

There is also a one-volume edition containing in full the portions of the Diary relating to Woodforde's life at Oxford: Woodforde at Oxford 1759-1776, edited by W N Hargreaves-Mawdsley. Unfortunately, it does not contain the entries for the periods which Woodforde spent away from Oxford between these dates.

Another, more recent, one-volume abridgement of the entire Diary is The Diary of a Country Parson, the Revd. James Woodforde, edited by David Hughes and published by the Folio Society. The text is taken from both the Beresford and Hargreaves-Mawdsley editions, as well as from the Parson Woodforde Society editions. It is probably the best one-volume introduction to Woodforde.

The only edition which contains the full text of the Diary is that published by the Parson Woodforde Society, under the title The Diary of James Woodforde. This comprises 17 volumes, covering the period from 1759 to 1802, and the series was completed with the publication of the final volume in 2007. These volumes - with their scholarly introductions, notes and other supporting material - have been prepared by R L Winstanley and P Jameson. Intending purchasers should understand that, excellent as they are, they have been produced on a limited budget. Consequently they are paper-bound, and some of the early volumes are printed in a typewriter-style font; recently published and revised volumes are more professionally produced.

Details of various publications follow.

The Diary: PWS publications | The Diary: other editions | Other publications relating to James Woodforde

The Diary: Parson Woodforde Society publications

The Diary of James Woodforde, editors R L Winstanley & P Jameson, published by The Parson Woodforde Society. Those shaded in this manner are out of print. For enquiries regarding the purchase of available volumes, please contact Martin Brayne.

The Diary: other editions

*Normally this edition is only available to Folio Society members, but the Folio Society may - at their discretion - be willing to sell single copies to enquirers. Click here for their contact details.

Other publications relating to James Woodforde

this page last updated on 10 June, 2007