It purports to be the diary of a farmer's wife, Anne Hughes, written in England in 1796–1797, which recounts details of her daily life, including recipes, and interactions with her family, servant and friends.
None of the original work can now be found...[3] According to Mary Day, the diary was published as submitted by Jeanne Preston, though some repetitious material was removed and some archaic spellings were corrected.
She claimed that the original Anne Hughes' Boke was in her possession until, in 1944 during the Second World War, it was lent to an American serviceman, known only as Jack, who was stationed in that area, and was then lost after his unit was mobilised.
The 1964 book edition of the Diary was prepared for publication by Suzanne Beedell, who was Mary Day's successor as the editor of Farmers Weekly.
On Christmas Day 1978, a dramatised version of the book, Anne Hughes' Diary, produced by Michael Croucher, was broadcast by BBC Television.
A further book edition, produced in collaboration with Jeanne Preston's grandson, was published with a new introduction in 2009, by the Good Life Press.