This diary gives a vivid picture of life in a Yorkshire village between the Napoleonic Wars and the Victorian era. Robert Sharp, schoolmaster, village constable, shopkeeper, and tax collector, was in a unique position to observe the affairs of the village and the lives of his fellow-villagers, whom he describes with wry humor and affection, often quoting their conversations verbatim. He also gives a contemporary view, at the local level, of events of national and international importance.