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W. N. P. Barbellion's final diary records the thoughts of a naturalist and writer living with severe illness. Published after his death in 1920, the volume continues beyond the period covered by his earlier journal, combining intimate observation with reflections on authorship, memory and the narrowing circumstances of daily life.
Entries from 1918 and 1919 move between family relationships, recollections of youth, books and the natural world. Physical weakness interrupts his work, yet his attention remains quick to notice a turn of phrase, an irritation or a small source of pleasure. The diary's changes of mood give its account of illness a strongly individual voice.
An introduction by his brother Arthur J. Cummings discusses Barbellion's life, character and preparation of the manuscript. That introductory portrait frames the final entries without replacing their directness. The book brings literary self-examination together with the habits of close observation that shaped Barbellion's life as a student of nature.