An old diary interrupts history with weather, appetite, and someone being late.

Diaries ruin the tidy version. In among the great events there is a note about a bad meal, a headache, a friend who did not turn up, and it becomes obvious that people lived through significant times mostly by getting through Thursday. That texture is what history usually removes, and it is the part that makes the past recognisable.

When you read about a period, find one first-hand daily account. It resets the scale usefully. And it is worth remembering when you feel that your own current preoccupations are too small to be part of the real story.