The Diary of a Nobody

Weedon Grossmith's 1892 book presents the details of English suburban life through the anxious and accident-prone character of Charles Porter. Porter's diary chronicles his daily routine, which includes small parties, minor embarrassments, home improvements, and his relationship with a troublesome son. The small minded but essentially decent suburban world he inhabits is both hilarious and painfully familiar. This edition features Weedon Grossmith's illustrations and an introduction which discusses the story's social context. Kate Flint is is Reader in Victorian and Modern English Literature and Fellow of Linacre College, Oxford. Her publications include The Woman Reader, 1837-1914 (1993) and many articles on early nineteenth and twentieth century fiction and art history.