As he composed what he hoped would be one of America’s great novels, John Steinbeck kept a daily diary of his writing progress. Struggling through self-doubt and everyday distractions, he finally produced The Grapes of Wrath. Actor Paul Hecht reads from Steinbeck's diary.The Morgan Library & Museum

At the height of his literary success, dramatist Tennessee Williams was full of anxiety and dependent on drugs and alcohol. His diary revealed his inner anguish. Actor Paul Hecht reads from Williams's diary.The Morgan Library & Museum

In 1975, on the day he married Lenore Klebanow, American painter Charles Seliger began writing in a fresh notebook to mark his life’s renewal. Actor Paul Hecht reads from Seliger's diary.The Morgan Library & Museum

After Henry Thoreau came to dinner one day in 1842, novelist Nathaniel Hawthorne described the unusual young man who seemed to live in perfect accord with nature. Actor Paul Hecht reads from Hawthorne's diary.The Morgan Library & Museum

One chilly summer day in 1851, Henry Thoreau took a walk, listened to the wind and the birds, and reflected on his place in the world. Actor Paul Hecht reads from Thoreau's diary.The Morgan Library & Museum

Full of joy and wonder, Sophia Hawthorne charted her daughter’s first year of life, from her newborn cries to her first unsteady steps. Actor Barbara Feldon reads from Sophia Hawthorne's diary.The Morgan Library & Museum

Newlyweds Sophia Peabody and Nathaniel Hawthorne kept a diary together, making a joint record of intimate life in their new home. Actors Barbara Feldon and Paul Hecht read from the Hawthornes' shared diary.The Morgan Library & Museum

Forbidden to correspond with Charles Kingsley, the man she adored, Fanny Grenfell kept a diary in the form of unsent love letters. Actor Barbara Feldon reads from Grenfell's diary.The Morgan Library & Museum

As he terrorized Spanish towns and ships in the Americas, English pirate Bartholomew Sharpe kept a diary of his voyage and his exploits. In this passage, he leads his band overland across present-day Panama. Actor Paul Hecht reads from Sharpe's diary.The Morgan Library & Museum

In these excerpts from his 1826 diary, Scottish author Sir Walter Scott faces the sadness and upheaval of leaving his home of twenty-four years. He is also trying to finish his novel Woodstock, his wife is gravely ill, and he is deeply in debt due to the country’s recent economic crisis. Actor Paul Hecht reads from Scott's diary.…

Charlotte Brontë was nineteen, and hated her job as a schoolteacher at Roe Head School in the north of England. She took a break one day in 1836 and began to write this diary entry, which quickly moves from the reality of everyday life into fantasy. Actor Barbara Feldon reads from Brontë's diary.The Morgan Library & Museum

During the American Civil War, the poet Walt Whitman visited army hospitals, listened to soldiers' stories, and expressed the pain of a wounded nation in his journals and letters. Actor Paul Hecht reads Whitman's description of some of his many visits to care for the wounded men.The Morgan Library & Museum