This journal, begun in 1840, follows-on from Elizabeth Grant of Rothiemurchus’s autobiography Memoirs of a Highland Lady . It depicts the day-to-day life of her family, her efforts to improve the Baltiboys estate and how she coped with the terrible ravages of famine. She closely observes all classes of society, from corrupt landowners to the poor and often dissolute farmworkers. The book is a chronicle of her times and a contribution to the social history of Ireland. Her commentaries should also inform the debate on the operation of the landlords in Ireland.