The diary is 43pp. long (foolscap). It is a copy of typescript with corrections. It begins with her birth and family circumstances as she grew up, and includes her life as a governess, her marriage and journey to China, the birth of her children, the Taiping Rebellion, medical training in London and studies in Edinburgh, and her return to London. The diary ends in 1886-1887 and with brief description of personal celebrations around the Jubilee of Queen Victoria.