The Family Life of Ralph Josselin, a Seventeenth-Century Clergyman: An Essay in Historical Anthropology (The Norton Library)

Rating:
Summary: Individualized History
Review: It is useful to fill in the gaps of broad historical sweeps with intimate details of individuals who lived in a given era. Such is the niche filled in this book about Ralph Josselin, a seventeenth century clergyman. Josselin's personal diary served as the primary source of information for this study. MacFarlane explains a point is to be made whether people who kept diaries differed from others. His conclusion is "the very fact that he (Josselin) kept a diary suggests that he was slightly exceptional" (p. 11). Josselin was a book man, an avid reader. He wrote "I made it my aime to learne & lent my minde continually to read historyes." From a Christian perspective, Josselin wrote of his work "if the worke bee of God it will prosper, if not it will come to nothing." This slice of history is helpful in that it gives insight unattainable through any other means. I recommend this book to people seeking to know more about a reflective thinker of the 17th century.