Journals and diaries, accounts of everyday events, are among the most prevalent forms of literature written by common people, prominent figures, and celebrated authors alike. Dating back to the fifteenth century in Europe (and earlier elsewhere), diary keeping was well established by the time the first settlers arrived in British North America during the 1600s and 1700s. At that time diaries and journals served miscellaneous purposes, both practical and imaginative. They were cherished as spiritual and intellectual anchors during turbulent times precipitated by, for example, long journeys or war; or they charted the soul's progress, revealed God's divine plan, and proffered, in the case of the Puritans, evidence of "election," or predestined salvation. By the 1820s diaries and journals, along with the new nation, had become more sizable, complex, and eclectic, and they continued to develop along those lines until the 1870s. They provided...