Frederic Madden’s Journal, 1826

Frederic Madden was born in Portsmouth on 16 February 1801. Throughout his adult life he maintained a journal, providing insights into his professional and social life. The journal is now held by the Bodleian Library in Oxford.

In 2025, a team from the Institute of English Studies at the School of Advanced Study, University of London, made a diplomatic transcription of the journal for the year 1826. Transcriptions of each entry will be released daily throughout 2026, 200 years after the events described. More information about the creation of the transcription is available here.

Madden’s journal for 1826 provides insights into his attempts to get a job at the British Museum, his work with medieval manuscripts, and his studies at Oxford University.

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Self-portrait by Madden in his journal for 1825