It's 1778, Boswell is now approaching his 40th birthday, married with three young children and a fourth on its way. His father, the laird of Auchinleck, is ill and dying. Boswell himself is full of both the doubts of middle age and the pleasures of family life. Far removed from the rakish, scholarly and amorous adventures described in earlier journals, Boswell, Laird of Auchinleck records Boswell's daily trials and incidents as he struggles to manage the family estate of Auchinleck in Ayrshire. Full of momentary detail and flashes of self-knowledge, Boswell's journal is an insight into the mind of the mature diarist.