I agree that Mrs. Shackleton expresses herself marvelously. One question I have, though, is how these diaries (39 of them!) managed to survive. After reading her descriptions of her husband and his drinking problems, I can only assume he never discovered them or didn't bother to read them. If he had, I imagine they'd have gone up in flames like some of JA's letters. It's just piqued my imagination to think of who might have read them over the years, or if they were boxed away until discovered by Antiques Roadshow...