Sarah Kemble Knight: Early Gossip Columnist

Knight's Journal as Gossip

Sarah Kemble Knight was a unique woman who wrote a humorous journal of her journey from Boston to New York in the early eighteenth century. Unlike other women at this time, Knight was not afraid to travel by herself along an unknown trail. She also was one of the rare women who traveled for business matters instead of personal leisure. Instead of commenting on her surroundings or some spiritual journey that she experienced, like many other early American writers would have done, Knight spoke of her lodgings and the country bumpkins she encountered along the way. Knight's Journal was meant for a small and personable group of friends and family back home in Boston, therefore she made jokes about herself and related stories she knew would be entertaining to her audience. Madam Knight gave details about her lodgings, commenting on how hard the bed was and what she was fed for dinner. In this manner, Madam Knight was one of the first entertainment travel writers. If she were alive today, one could assume she would have a television show wherein she travels around the world and discusses the best places to eat and stay. Madam Knight discussed details that promoted entertainment rather than instruction, therefore making Knight's Journal one of the first entertainment logs built on gossip.