Help...a more detailed guide to the site
Wynne started writing her diaries in 1895. To start with, she
sometimes covered more than one year in a book, but from 1907, she filled
one large volume every year until 1931, a total of 30 books.
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Alongside her entries, the diaries contain a wealth of other material, ranging from photos and original illustrations to newspaper cuttings, pressed flowers, fashion plates or post cards. You will get a good idea of this from the picture sections. She wrote in a fast scrawl, and I have left much of her idiosyncratic punctuation as it is, though occasionally for the sake of clarity adding a full stop, or changing a spelling. Generally, you will read her words in the bigger print, and my own additions or explanations in the smaller typeface.
You can join Wynne as a sixteen-year-old girl in 1895, just beginning her diary; in 1902, as a young bride; or read about her
ten years later, the proud mother of three children, in 1912, in
1913 and so on, into the First World War. This is the Diary
section and it will be gradually increased until the whole diary is online.
If you find an incomplete year, that is because it is being worked on!
As time permits, earlier and later years will be filled in.
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If you are just getting acquainted, I suggest you read Love, where
you will find out about Wynne's life before these pages open, and before
her marriage.
It is divided into two, the first concerning her love for a young man
whom she was forbidden to marry, and the second about her courtship and
marriage to Herbert Jackson. You can enter the second section by clicking
on Herbert's name in the first square of the Love browser strip. This
section will not change.
You might also like to meet the Family - this section covers everyone on both sides, from the formidable matriarch, Eleanor von Poellnitz, to Wynne's children and grandchildren. This section will explain who all the names are, although I have often added short explanations within the diary entries. It will be updated as necessary.
You might also dip into Editor's Picks where I include some thoughts
about the diaries and memory alongside some specific sections, like the
one on Wynne as a young Victorian, or on Boer War newspaper propaganda...I'll
be adding to this section, sometimes in response to your queries, and
from time to time I might go back to the earlier years for events or stories,
since we have started our story in mid-life, so keep an eye on it!
Travel, Christmas and Fashion you can browse through for fun. They
also include snippets from the earlier years, including the description
of her boat journey to India when she met her husband. They will change
from time to time.
And as things get going, there will be more and more material. If you know what you are looking for, try the search engine at the top of the page.
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Let me know what you think about the site and about Wynne, using the Contact
site. My name is Peter Symes, and I am Wynne's youngest grandchild.