Customer Reviews

Journals and the Memoirs of Thomas Russell 1791-17 (History)

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Thomas Russell was, with T. Wolfe Tone, one of the founding members of the United Irishmen, the group behind the 1798 Rebellion and Emmet's Rebellion in 1803. Russell was not as dedicated to his journals as Tone was, nor was he really writing for an external audience. The content, tone, and style of his journals definitely indicate that he was writing for his own benefit. Content ranges from his activities in the United Irishman, to his failed romance with Eliza Goddard, to his late-night drinking sessions, to his scientific experimentation and observations. There are gaps of weeks, months, and years between journal entries - a good portion of this due to his lengthy prison stays.

C. J. Woods has done an excellent, professional job of editing the manuscripts. He has gone to great pains to explain the background to Russell's comments, and has taken equal care not to impinge on Russell's own writing with revisions. Woods has also provided a good introduction, index, brief biography and chronology of Russell's life, in addition to the extensive and well-researched footnotes.

I would have liked to see the inclusion of some of Russell's correspondence, as few of the letters in his papers have yet been published. Woods does refer to some of the letters in footnotes, enough to give you the impression that there's a lot more out there.

Coming at this from a genealogical/family history perspective, as I am, this book is of major interest, but not a font of information. From the viewpoint of a historian of the United Irishmen, it might be of ancillary interest, but is not a great resource for primary material. For someone interested in knowing the internal thoughts of a late-18th century Irish patriot, it's priceless.