Personal forms of writing such as the journal and the diary, which developed from the sixteenth century onward, remain a neglected field of study. Diaries and journals are often regarded as an artless transcript of reality, the raw 'data' for historical accounts, or as quaint records of domestic and foreign travel. Recording and Reordering is a collection of essays that discuss the diary and journal as a literary form, one that like any other form, only more self-consciously, is situated on the borders of private and public life. The essays offer approaches to the question of how a diary is written, who writes them, where, for whom, and in what form, as well as how they are published and edited. As a collection, these essays provide a new look at this fascinating genre.