11 h 29 minAudiobook14 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at cost
Audiobook edition · 11 h 29 minPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
What happens when a mind full of plans must face a body that can no longer keep pace?
In The Journal of a Disappointed Man, W. N. P. Barbellion begins as a boy watching animals, collecting insects and filling notebooks. Behind the pen name is Bruce Frederick Cummings, a young English naturalist hungry for knowledge. His love of living things grows into a pressing ambition: to earn a place among serious scientists.
Work at the Natural History Museum in London brings colleagues, superiors and rivals into his diary. Then illness threatens a future he still longs to build. Alongside his search for answers from doctors, Barbellion records friendship, love and shifting moods. He is funny, restless and sometimes vain, with little wish to hide the less flattering parts of himself.
What you’ll discover
- A boy watching closely See the English countryside through a young collector's fascination with animals, insects and small discoveries.
- The hunger to belong Follow a self-taught naturalist as he seeks his place among professionals.
- Science and its rivalries Meet the colleagues and rivals who fill his working life with friction.
- Plans under threat Encounter an honest account of illness while ambition still presses forward.
- An unguarded inner life Find friendship, the search for love, and moods that refuse a cheerful disguise.
Who will love it
You will love this book if you enjoy frank diaries, self-taught scientists, wartime London, music and nature writing, and the company of a witty, restless mind.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- Curiosity grows into a calling
- He builds his own scientific education
- Illness makes ambition more urgent
- Love unsettles his confident poses
- Success brings its own disappointment
- Self observation becomes a trap
- Music lets joy return
- Marriage holds a painful secret
- His contradictions make the portrait
Formats and delivery
- eBook
- On your phone, tablet or computer, once the book texts are online.
- Large-print eBook
- The same book in bigger, clearer type, once the book texts are online.
- Audiobook
- Read by Lucas Linden, complete. It opens once the recording is online.
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas in about 14 minutes, to read today.
- Paperback
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Hardcover
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print paperback
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print hardcover
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
Every printed copy is made when you order it and shipped worldwide; shipping is shown at checkout. The eBook and the audiobook open when the book texts go online.
How it works
- Start free. Nothing to pay today; the eBook of this book is yours to keep.
- Read, listen and print. 200,000+ classics as eBook, large-print eBook, audiobook and 15-minute summary, and any book printed at cost as a paperback, hardcover or large print, 5 accounts for the price of one.
- We remind you first. Free for 3 months, and we email you 7 days before your first payment. Then USD 0.14 a day in your first year on the yearly plan and USD 0.27 a day after, or USD 0.66 a day on the monthly plan. Cancel online in two clicks.
Bought on its own? Every eBook, audiobook and printed book you buy without the plan carries our 30-day money-back guarantee.
25 languages, side by side
The Journal of a Disappointed Man in 25 languages, side by side, paragraph by paragraph, once the book texts are online: the way to learn a language with a book you love.
The Journal of a Disappointed Man
by W. N. P. Barbellion · 1919
A self-taught naturalist in London races a failing body to get his Journal finished.
Medium level5–10 hours to read2 languages
Learn a language with medium classicsSpanishFrenchGermanItalianJapanesePortugueseEnglishHow we measure levels
Excellent
Free for 3 months · starts right away, on any device
Read free3 months free · cancel anytimeFree for 3 months, then USD 0.14 a dayCancel anytimeHow it works
- Read or listen
- 25 languages, side by side
- Print and large print at cost
- 5 accounts for the price of one
In short
What does a boy do with a catapult, a notebook and a head full of beetles? He grows into a man who dissects a dogfish in the morning and takes down a bishop's speech in shorthand by afternoon.
The Journal of a Disappointed Man at a glance
- Reading time
- About 6 h 45 min5 h 20 min fast, 8 h slow
- Length
- 96,100 words
- Library level
- Medium longer sentences, everyday words
- First published
- 1919by W. N. P. Barbellion
Reading time at 238 words a minute (fast 300, slow 200). How long the classics take to read · Updated
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A boy with a catapult becomes a naturalist
The diary opens in 1903, when the writer is a little over thirteen. His early entries are brisk and boyish, full of catapult shots, hedge climbing and a barn owl flying in daylight. The tone is that of a child who writes things down simply because they happen.
Soon the notes grow serious. By June 1905 he counts two hundred and thirty-two nests of forty-four species found in one egg season. He takes up beetles, and collecting is already a method, not just a game. At Christmas in 1904 he starts reading Darwin's Origin of Species and decides to keep going.
Free for 3 months · Cancel anytime
You looked at
Which edition is right for me
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas of the whole book in about 14 minutes. A good first look, or a refresher.
Details
- First published
- 1919
- Language
- English
- Reading time
- 7 h 25 min
- Level
- Medium level
Cite this edition
Barbellion, W. N. P. The Journal of a Disappointed Man. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-journal-of-a-disappointed-man.
Barbellion, W. N. P. (2026). The journal of a disappointed man. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-journal-of-a-disappointed-man (Original work published 1919)
Barbellion, W. N. P. The Journal of a Disappointed Man. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-journal-of-a-disappointed-man.
@book{barbellion2026journal,
author = {Barbellion, W. N. P.},
title = {The Journal of a Disappointed Man},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-journal-of-a-disappointed-man},
note = {First published 1919}
}
Free gifts
USD 580 in free gifts when you start
Every book in every format and in 25 languages, 5 accounts for the price of one. Nothing to pay today.
- 200,000+ classic eBooksIn 25 languages, side by side
USD 170FREE - Every audiobookIn 25 languages, any device
USD 120FREE - 15-minute summariesRead or listen, in 25 languages
USD 60FREE - Print at cost, no markupPaperback, hardcover, large print
USD 60FREE - 5 accounts for the price of oneA shelf for everyone at home
USD 170FREE - A part in rebuilding the libraryNew languages and books for all
FREE
Questions about The Journal of a Disappointed Man
Can I read it free?
Yes. The first key idea of the 15-minute summary is free with no sign-up. Start free and the whole book is yours for 3 months, with the eBook to keep, plus 200,000+ more classics and any book printed at cost as a paperback, hardcover or large print. Nothing to pay today: we email you 7 days before your first payment, and you can cancel online in two clicks.
Can I buy the printed book?
Soon. The paperback, hardcover and large print editions are being prepared. Choose Paperback or Hardcover above, leave your email, and we tell you the day you can order it, printed at cost.
How many accounts do I get?
Five, for the price of one: you and 4 more people, each with their own login, shelf and their own place in every book.
Can I cancel anytime?
Yes. Cancel online in two clicks at any time and nothing more is charged. Nothing is charged in your first 3 months, and we email you 7 days before your first payment.
What is The Journal of a Disappointed Man about?
It is a diary kept from 1903 to 1917 by a self-taught naturalist. It follows his boyhood passion for birds, his work at the Natural History Museum, his loves, his marriage, the First World War and his struggle with a nerve disease.
Who was W. N. P. Barbellion?
Barbellion was the pen name of Bruce Cummings, a naturalist born in Devon. He worked as a reporter, then at the Natural History Museum in London. He published his journal in 1919, the year he died.
Is The Journal of a Disappointed Man a true story?
Yes, it is a real diary. The author kept it from the age of about thirteen and later edited and shortened it for publication. Some entries carry later comments added in 1916 and 1917.
The author
W. N. P. Barbellion
1889–1919 · English diarist and naturalist
English pseudonymous diarist and naturalist.
More like this
Our mission
The library burned once. We are building it back.
Every great book, in every language and every format, for every family. Every plan helps pay for new languages, new audiobooks and books for readers who have never had them. Join the movement.
Read our story- Every language25 languages today, side by side, and more every year
- No wastePrinted on demand: no warehouses, no unsold stock, no pulped copies
- For everyonePaperback, hardcover and large print at the cost of printing
