Scholars of 19th and early 20th-century literature will find in this collection of Annie Adams Fields' diaries and memoirs a rare glimpse into New England's literary society.

Through her marriage to James Fields; editor, author, and partner in the Boston publishing firm of Ticknor & Fields; Annie Fields became acquainted with such eminent writers as Alcott, Emerson, James, Longfellow, and Whittier. Also included are accounts of her travels to Europe and the Caribbean, during which she had private meetings with Dickens, Lamartine, Tennyson, and Thackeray.