In The Diary of a Village Shopkeeper, The Folio Society presents a selection of the 11-volume diary of Thomas Turner covering the period 1754-1765 as edited by David Vaisey and illustrated by Miriam MacGregor. As early as the nineteenth century, historians edited the diary in order to offer a specific portrayal of the period, often an unfriendly one. Vaisey limits his edits to correcting spelling and abbreviations for consistency or trimming repetitive and redundant parts in order to make the diary more readable without attempting to spin the material to suit his needs.
Turner's account is not limited to his work as a shopkeeper as he was particularly involved in local politics as well as being well-read and well-versed in matters of national politics and astronomical import. His musings on morality, drunkenness, and literature are touching and funny. While it would be the height of inaccuracy to use Turner as an example of the typical eighteenth century English villager (on account of his activity and erudition), his account of the eleven-year-period will captivate the reader and give them a broad strokes understanding of English village life. ( )