Charles Mollet and his World

Charles Mollet (1742-1819) farmed 26 acres in Guernsey, and for much of his life kept a journal. Six volumes of this journal survive. They relate to the years 1771-1818 - a period of prolonged Franco-British warfare and unprecedented change. Mollet was a gregarious man and had dealings with people across the whole social spectrum. He recorded several stays in northern France, where he witnessed Louis XVI's inspection of port defences at Cherbourg, and southern England, where he met smugglers in Hampshire and Dorset. This book interprets and contextualises Mollet's own record of his agricultural activities, his public life, his domestic arrangements, his social life, his travels, matters relating to his family, and his observations on external events. It may be read as a complement to the excerpts published in The Journal of Charles Mollet (1742-1819): A Selection, or as a stand-alone introduction to an interesting man and his equally interesting times.