Background
Thomlinson was born in the small farming village of Blencogo, near Wigton, Cumberland, on 29 September 1692, the eldest son of William Thomlinson (1657–1743).
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John Thomlinson
Edit ProfileEducation
He was educated at Appleby-in-Westmorland and at Street John"s College, Cambridge, matriculating in 1709.
Career
He remained at Rothbury after his uncle"s death in 1720, and in 1721, for unknown reasons, he moved to Navestock, Essex. Thomlinson held this post until his death in Glenfield on 5 February 1761. The diary was started in 1715 while Thomlinson was at Cambridge, and before he took orders.
Written in the volume in an eighteenth-century hand is a comment which includes a brief description: affords a lively picture of the sordid and selfish views of the writer and of his friends for his advancement, in seeking for a rich wife, and the shameless traffic and trifling with the feelings of many women in this pursuit.
Ponsonby writes of the diary: This is an instance of a diary which, however unpleasing it may be, is quite spontaneous and honest and therefore portrays the character of the writer more vividly than letters or second-hand observations of others could do. Indeed, this is one of the most captivating, but little-known diaries of the period, rich in antiquarian and literary interest.
Thomlinson does not hesitate to criticize his subjects, and reports scandals together with curious and humorous anecdotes, including what is certainly one of the earliest limericks. Much of the diary is concerned with the writer"s matrimonial concerns, the amount of dowries as much as the characters of the women in question.
The original manuscript is now in the British Library.
Much of the text has been published by the Surtees Society.
