#diarist

Mireille Havet (deceased)

Gender: Female

Sexuality: Lesbian

DOB: 4 October 1898 

RIP: 21 March 1932

Ethnicity: White - French

Occupation: Poet, diarist, writer, songwriter

Hester Lynch Piozzi (née Salusbury, later Mrs Thrale)

Artist: Unknown (Italian)

Date: ca. 1785-1786

Medium: Oil on canvas

Collection: National Portrait Gallery, London, United Kingdom

Description

Hester Lynch Thrale Piozzi (1741–1821) was a pivotal British diarist, author, and literary hostess. Best known for her close friendship with Dr. Samuel Johnson, she defied 18th-century social conventions to pursue personal happiness, leaving behind a rich legacy of journals, travel writing, and historical scholarship.

I know in my heart that a future awaits me, but I feel trapped. As if my wings were clipped before I could learn how to use them. I am confined to a cage that sits wide open, and still, I never even leap. I stay a prisoner of my own will, like a coward.

Thanks for reading my question!

Hello!

It's said that he owned Elvis postcards and put them on display. So, one would assume that he liked Elvis.

Stephen loved the beach. It's possible that he would gravitate towards "Blue Hawaii" or other beach-themed films. Stephen visited Hawaii in the 1940s with Edith Lewis. Another possibility would be the films "G.I. Blues" (Army) or "Easy Come Easy Go" (Navy) because he has always loved a man in uniform. All of these seem to firmly plant the date within the 1960s. I haven't seen all of his films to know which would best align with Stephen's interests, but those are ones that I can name offhand. I can't say for certain what era that Elvis was in when he found him or what inspired him to buy postcards, nor the familiarity that he had with his music. Stephen's voice was baritone so it's possible that Elvis was perfect for his vocal range. I've noticed that whenever a song is mentioned that he enjoys, it's usually happy and up-tempo, or it's overly dramatic which allows him to act, dance or sing to it. If he was in a silly mood, in theory he could've tried to swivel his hips like Elvis. lol It's fun to imagine!

Photos of the spinning postcard rack in the Library which would've housed the cards. These were taken too early (1930s) to have Elvis on them. I haven't found a 1970-80s photo of the rack yet which would be late enough to show his collection. Perhaps one day. His record collection wasn't mentioned in the Wilsford auction book, so we'll never know how varied his taste had become by the end of his life.

By the 50s, he did pick up on modern musicals and liked to sing Oklahoma (could've reminded him of Willa Cather's books) or "If You Knew Suzie" (possibly from Navy film "Anchors Aweigh", or earlier.. it's an old song).

I hope that I've answered your question. Sorry that I wasn't able to help very much.

Elvis in Blue Hawaii

On October 29th 1740 James Boswell, the biographer, diarist and travel writer was born in Edinburgh.

The son of Lord Auchinleck, Boswell matriculated in 1753 to study at the city’s University. In 1759 his father sent him to Glasgow, where he attended the classes of Adam Smith and others, but he tired of student life and fled to London on 1 March 1760. He became a lawyer, a writer and, and most famously the biographer of the aforementioned Samuel Johnson.

He first met Johnson on 16 May 1763 at Tom Davies Bookshop in Russell Street. It was the start of a lifelong friendship, with eventually Johnson calling him ‘Bozzy’.

By all accounts Bozzy was a handsome fellow, with an engaging character and great deal of charm evident in the portrait by George Willison attached to this post, painted during the early summer of 1765 when Boswell was in his mid twenties.

By outstandingly gatecrashing himself into literary circles James Boswell managed to introduce himself, during extended travels on the continent from 1763 – 1766, to two of the eighteenth centuries, and history’s most important civil liberty protagonists.

They were a dynamic duo, the self styled wit Voltaire (Francois-Marie Arouet), and political philosopher, educationist and author Jean-Jacques Rousseau.

James Boswell returned to England from his Grand Tour in February 1766 accompanied by Rousseau’s mistress. Three years later he married his cousin Margaret Montgomerie with whom he had six children.

In 1773 Boswell and Johnson shared a tour of the Hebrides. Boswell published an account of their journey in 1785, including a description of Johnson merrily swinging a broadsword and wearing traditional Scottish garb. Boswell brought Corsican nationalist Pasquali Paoli and the Polish ambassador Count Burzynski to visit Glasgow University. They were greeted by several professors and a large crowd of spectators, and toured the printing works and the Academy of Art with the University printers Robert and Andrew Foulis. They stopped off in Glasgow on their return, and stayed at the Saracen’s Head Inn near the University, which is still trading to this day.

For much of James Boswell’s life his father despaired of him. He didn’t follow his father’s profession and practice law, preferring his writing above all. However he did became 9th Laird of Auchinleck, but in the end his years of enjoying the good life finally caught up with him.

Not many people have a word named after them, to be ‘Boswellian’ means to be a constant companion and observer. Another noted Scotsman, Arthur Conan Doyle honoured his fellow countryman and writer Boswell in his works. His celebrated detective Sherlock Holmes said ‘that talent instantly recognizes genius’ and referred to his own cherished companion and observer, Dr Watson, as ‘my Boswell’.

After Johnson’s death in 1784, Boswell moved to London to try his luck at the English Bar, which proved even less successful than his career in Scotland. In 1792 Boswell lobbied the Home Secretary to help gain royal pardons for four Botany Bay escapees including Mary Bryant. He also offered to stand for Parliament but failed to get the necessary support, and he spent the final years of his life writing his Life of Samuel Johnson. During this time his health began to fail due to venereal disease and his years of drinking. Boswell died in London in 1795.

Memoirs of a Dutiful Daughter, Simone de Beauvoir

She gets me