Diaries are one of our oldest literary traditions, conjuring questions of private confessions and public display. In this series of essays we explore five diarists of the past through the lens of the present.

In these extraordinary times, when the shift between the domestic and the out-of-reach wider world is ever more pronounced, Radio 3 has commissioned five Essays on the theme of diaries – five new diaries written during the unprecedented period of recent weeks, reflecting on the present moment and reaching out to another historical literary diarist for aid and inspiration.

1. AL Kennedy: The Towers We Founded and the Lamps We Lit

From the stasis of her confinement, AL Kennedy pursues the ever-restless wanderings of Robert Louis Stevenson.