The Country Diary of an Edwardian Lady

There I was, doing my little "I found a treasure" jig.  Luckily, this time I was alone in a second-hand book shop.  A little shop in a garage not far from my home.  I like looking at these out of the way and out of sight shops and at book tables for treasures and especially out-of-print Afrikaans children's books.

But on this day I was dancing my jig because I found "The Country Diary of an Edwardian Lady" by Edith Holden.

To me it feels as a must-have for a home-school mom that likes the Charlotte Mason method of Nature Study.  Edith Holden wrote and illustrated the diary in 1906.  It was only discovered 70 years later and published in 1977.  

Each month starts with some facts about the name of the month, important days and some mottos or ditties about that month.

She added a lot of poems, personal thoughts and observations.

And her beautiful paintings and drawings shows her observation of and love for nature and the changes that seasons bring.

Below is a photograph of the page dated Sept 22, 25 and 30, with a poem of Jean Ingelow and a painting of Fruit of Wild Guelder Rose (Viburnum opulus)  

Full page paintings

I love dried leaves and always pick them up to sketch later.  So I like looking at this page to see how Edith Holden captured them.

Poems and paintings complement each other.

Karen Andreola wrote in her book "A Charlotte Mason Companion: Personal Refelctions on the Gentle Art of Learning" about this book and also about Mother Culture.  Since that time I wanted to own my own copy.  And now I treat myself to some time alone reading and admiring this book.