If you've had a chance to listen to the three pilot episodes of the "Chronicles of William Hone," you'll know that time flies by quickly! A perusal of Hone's various day-books demonstrates his own sensitivity to time and its effects. Progress comes and goes, the landscape changes, old customs die out and new ones step forward.
Yet why not keep step with time, Hone thought, by tracking it in some fashion? His weekly sheets, issued in sync with the calendar, did just that and provided a degree of historical perspective as winter, once again, changed into spring, and the anniversary of an interesting person's birth arrived, once again.
By "preserving the skeins of memory that linked men and women with their real and mythic past," as Ben Wilson notes in his biography, Hone provided a running narrative that, at times, reads as modern commentary. How else can one judge the depth and quality of modern life except by seeing what others made of the world in times past?
I hope to start up the "Chronicles of William Hone" podcast again in the near future, so that it can march with us through the pages of time - in my estimation, there's no substitute for hearing the little stories read aloud. In the meantime, though, some excerpts for each week, starting with this one. Enjoy!
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