THE TRANSCRIPTION and NOTATION of ELIZABETH FRYS JOURNAL 1780 -1845. a Thesis Submitted for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy B
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THE TRANSCRIPTIONAND NOTATIONOF ELIZABETHFRYS JOURNAL 1780 -1845. A thesis submittedfor the degree of Doctor of Philosophy by Mary B. A. Bruin Politics and History, Brunei Business School, Brunei University September 2005 Abstract: Brunel University,Uxbridge; Brunel Business School Group, Politics and History; Mary Bruin; The Transcription and Notation of Elizabeth Fry's Journal 1780 - 1845; September2005 A thesis submittedfor the degree of Doctor of Philosophy This thesis proposes to explain the productionof Fry's journal and make available to researchersa full transcription of the autobiographicaljournal of Elizabeth Fry. This journal tells Fry's life story in an episodic diary format that encapsulatesthe last forty-eight years of her life. The justification for the production of the transcription and the motivation behind It: The thesis will investigate the importance of Fry's Journal in the evolution of the diary genre. It will justify the huge undertaking entailed in making a full transcription of Fry's journal and will discuss the condition of the journal books and their different locations. How these factors contributed to the delay in producing a transcription earlier will be considered. What motivated Fry to write her journal and what influenced her to continue the process unabated for all her adult life? The reasons Fry had originally given for her journal production changed her as journal evolved and her life priorities changed. I will investigate the destruction of Fry's early journal books and her reasoning behind such editorial interference and her motivation for keeping others. Finally this section will close with an analysis of Fry's journal in order to establish what class within the diary genre it belongs. Dyslexia and its effect on Fry's journal text and the editorial procedures adopted: This part of this thesis discusses the indicators of dyslexia within the journal text and their effect on the journal's production. I explain the resulting methodology adopted to alleviate the destructive effect that dyslexia had on the journal text. I have limited the editorial interventions undertaken when producing the transcription as I wished to maintain the integrity of Fry's journal. The final part of the thesis evaluates Fry's journal by making a comparison with a contemporary journal. The journal I used for comparison was written by Deborah Darby, a woman who shared many of Fry's life experiences. This thesis will establish Fry's journal as belonging to that elite group of great diarists that includes Pepys. The appendices: these consist of a short biography of Fry with a published work explaining her role in the founding of modern nursing. A glossary of Quakers and the Gurney family terminology and finally a bibliography and the first two books, from Fry's journal with notes. 2 This thesis is dedicated to R. G. Huntsman Acknowledgments: I wish to acknowledgethe assistance and support given to me by the following persons and organisationsthat made this project possible. I wish to express my gratitude to them for all the work and time they have freely given as I endeavouredto get Elizabeth Fry's journal transcribed.Their names are in no particular order and any I have omitted I beg their pardon for the oversight. I accept all responsibilityfor any errors that appear within this thesis. T.Burnard original supervisor, now The University of Sussex S-J. KJeinbergsupervisor, Brunei University R.G. Huntsman T. F.Burchell D.Holfturn P-Elkerton,Hillingdon Council R-Turner,Committee, Hillingdon Council J. Keith and the staff at The Library of the Religious Society of Friends London. The staff at Johnson Matthey Precious Metal Company London. A.Ellis Uxbridge Library [Home Delivery Service] The Staff of: British Library, House of Lords Library Norwich Library Norfolk Record Office Corporation of London Collage Library The Public Relation Dept. at Friends Provident Alec Davison [the Leaveners] 3 CONTENTS: Abstract AcknovAedgements Page 4 Introductionto Thesis Page 13 Class, Motivation and Production Page 19 Genre, Tone, Production and DysleAa Page 35 Significanceand Comparison Page 44 Methodology Page 47 Critique Appendices: 49: Biography of Elizabeth Fry 66: Genealogy of the Fry and Gurney Families. A list of biographies of people Fry was influenced by 71: A list of biographies published over the past twenty-five years 73: Glossary 77: Bibliography 79:Transcription of Bookl Ms. S255 with notation Transcription of Book 2 Ms.S256 Wth introduction and notation 4 The Transcription and Notation of the Journal of Elizabeth Fry 1780 - 1846 The 160th anniversaryof Elizabeth Fry's death took place on 13 October 2005. A local doctor from Ramsgatewhere Fry was staying recordedthe causes of this remarkable woman's death. He verified the causes as "Serious Effusion in the Brain 26 Hours, Partial Paralysis 11/2 years, Certified.,, Her son-in-law, Francis Cresswell, registered her death on 15 October 1845. [il The achievements of Fry were extraordinary when we consider how well she succeeded in the predominately male preserve of nineteenth-century public life. 121Fry bequeathed to her heirs a remarkable personal journal comprising forty-eight books. These books date from both 1797 - 1845 and chronicle Fry's private life and public careers as a Quaker minister and a social reformer. In a continuous record Fry's journal contains her life from the age of sixteen until her death in 1845. This thesis has produced a transcription of all Fry's of journal books for academic research and for the public. Fry used the term journal to describe the daily record of her life story. 13]The appellation diary and journal derive from the Latin source denoting daily', which suggests they are interchangeable.Nevertheless, the title 'journal, has come to signify a work designated for greater public recognition than the privacy that the word diary, implies. If we consider Samuel Pepys, format, it contained letters, meditations and occasional essays and is consideredby most people as the standard by which they judge all diaries [41Forthe purposes of continuity and because Fry used the term to describe her text, I will be using the appellation journal throughout this thesis when referring to Fry's work. It seems strange that the journal of such a remarkable historical figure as Fry should be preserved for so long but not transcribed. The public?s curiosity about Elizabeth Fry and her career did not diminish over the years. The fact that the many biographies and plays about Fry, have been published since her death attest to her continuing prominencein the public mind.151 V] Certifiedcopy of an a" of Death,15 October1845, General Reciister Office, JW004297)[MerseysiftPO. Box 2. PrS2JDI 121Joan Perkin. Victorian Women [London:John Murray.199311-3; 131 Robert Fothergill, Private Chronicles. A Studyof EnglishDiaries, [London:O)domf Unhoersity Press, 19741153; [4] Ibid 7; [51Nex DmAdsonand PeterJones, Elizabeth of N, [Exeter.Phoenbý 2001 ] 5 A book list on Fry published in the last twenty-five years in English is available after the bibliography at the end of this thesis. One of the most recent publications on Fry was a book examining her role in penal reform by Dennis Bardens in 2004 called Elizabeth Fry. Britain's Second Lady on A Five-Pound Note. [6]The title of this book refers to the step taken by the Bank of England to place a representation of Fry on the British five-pound note, a position normally reserved for Elizabeth 11.They have honoured other famous historical figures in this way on different denominations of British bank notes. For example, Florence Nightingale's portrait was on the ten-pound note. The denomination of the note according to the Public Relations Department of the Bank of England has no significance. It was Fry's importance as a major historical figure and her abiding relevance that earned her this honour. The continual public interest shown in Fry is only one reason that a transcription of this important journal should be made. Although they have written numerous books on Fry's life and career, the majority of writers used the same scant prime sources. The primary books consulted by biographers, as recorded in their bibliographies, were Katharine Fry and Rachel Cresswell, s two volume: A Memoir of the Life of Elizabeth Fry and Augustus Hare's, The Gurneys of Earlham. m Such recent biographers as June Rose, and Dennis Bardens also cited Katharine Fry's journal as a principal source. [81Nevertheless, the books by Fry's daughters and Hare are by far the most popular and often quoted primary source among chroniclers of Fry's life. i8l This dearth of primary research material has meant that many of the books published about Fry or her works have been rehashes of existing knowledge. They often speculate on Fry's motivation using inadequate sources obtained from nineteenth-century works. 191 Very little new material with additional information about Fry had been published until [61Dennis Bardens, Elizabeth Fry. Britains Second Lady On The Fhm-PotM Note, [London Canadian Publications Ltd.. 2004] M Katharine Fry and Rachel Cresswell. A Memoir of The Life of Elizabeth Frv. (Montclair New Jersey Patterson Smith. 19741 Augustus Hare, The GUMM Earlharn [London George Alen, 18951 of ' [81June Rose, Elizabeth Frv. A lography [London Macmillan Publishers Ltd. 19801 Katharine Fry, Diary. London, British L 118821Mss: Add. 47456; Add. 47457 191Annernicke van Drenth and Francisca de Haan. Rise of Carina Power Elizabeth Frv and Joseohine Butler In Britain and the Netherlands: [Amsterdam,Amsterdam University Press, 19991 6 recently. 11olA major discovery that made a significant contribution to our knowledge of Fry was the recognition that she had dyslexia. Iii) Dyslexia was a contributory factor in the decline of Fry's relationships with her family. Fry had recorded a review of her early life on 21 May 1798,1 was thought and called very stupid & obstinate-I certainly did not like learning nor did 1,1 believe attend my lessons.