‘It is difficult to put this book into any category except that it is one of those friendly books that should be on one’s bedside table, where it will scare away into serenity the bogeys that sometimes come in the lonely hours.’ — Times Literary Supplement ‘It is difficult to put this book into any category except that it is one of those friendly books that should be on one’s bedside table, where it will scare away into serenity the bogeys that sometimes come in the lonely hours.’ — Leonora Eyles, Times Literary Supplement In 1939, Malachi Whitaker was living with her family in the Yorkshire manse she had coveted since childhood. After years of poverty, her life of comfort—and success as a writer—had been hard-won. With war looming in Europe and worried about her ability to continue writing, she feared that this pleasant existence could vanish overnight. Aiming to capture the moment, she began keeping the journal that would become And So Did I. Spanning the years 1937-1938, And So Did I is both a record of daily existence and an impressionistic account of Whitaker’s life told through memories, speculations, and daydreams. Decades ahead of its time, it is a precursor to the genre-bending work of writers like Annie Ernaux and Deborah Levy. ‘What is the use of life?’ when danger lurks all around, Whitaker asks. Her determination to find joy in plants, insects, children, music, food and books will resonate with readers asking similar questions today. ‘It is delightful. Not an autobiography, not quite a journal, it combines in a most original way the qualities of both.’ — New Statesman