1) Daniel travels from the Marlow's home to his uncle's estate called Highgates, where his mother grew up. 2) Daniel explores the estate and discovers that his dollhouse is a replica of Highgates, making him feel connected to his mother. 3) Daniel learns from the gardener and his uncle that his mother was energetic as a child at Highgates, in contrast to how she cared for Daniel, leaving him feeling confused about his mother.

1. Daniel’s
Diary

2. Dear Diary, Pages
106-117
Yesterday I left the Marlow’s and traveled to Highgates. It was
hard to say goodbye to Dr. Marlow and his dear family, whom
I had been living with these past months. The things I saw
outside the train were beautiful and different, and I couldn’t
believe I had been kept away from such sights for this long. A
friend of Dr. Marlow’s met me in London, and took me
through the big city, to another train station. Again, the
countryside flickered past my eyes. Finally, the anticipated
words were called out: “Tiverley Down and Illingworth!” I
instinctively climbed down from the carriage. As the train
chugged on I anxiously waited for someone to pick me up. No
one came. Had my uncle forgotten about me already? I
realized that I couldn’t wait until it grew dark, so I started out
on my own. I asked two women passing by me for the way to
Highgates. They looked at me as if I were mad, as if I couldn’t
possibly be going there. But they gave me directions, and I
recognized the house as soon as I came to it. How many
times had I had a doll in my hand walk through the same
door, only in a smaller size? I entered the big house, and the
captain was there. He thought someone had met me, but I did
not contradict him. He was happy to see me and I was too
exhausted to feel anything, other than the gratefulness to
have a bed.

3. Dear Diary, Pages
119-135
This morning I explored the house, and I became sure of the
fact that my dollhouse was a replica of this place. Although in
the dollhouse, where there had been portraits of people,
there were now mirrors or paintings of country scenes. When
I went outside, a gardener clearly recognized my mother
when seeing me. I tried getting him to tell me about her, but
all he said was that “he knew my mother very well”. This
made me unhappy. Everyone seems to know my mother
better than me! As I made my way back to the house, Captain
Severn found me. He also told me about my mother, and her
life at Highgates. He said that she had been a loud, energetic
girl while living here. Was she her childhood’s opposite when
caring for me? Every once in a while, he pointed out things or
places he could connect with my mother and her playful
ways. It gave me the same feeling I got when talking to the
gardener, but I kept it inside myself. Suddenly his mood
would change, and he would seem mad and distressed. I was
able to coax him out of his bad mood by asking about his
adventures at sea. By noon, he left me to myself. I could not
hold the tears in any longer, and I cried sorrowfully. I miss my
mother, and I miss the Marlows so much, I do not want to
stay here with the captain, in my late mother’s childhood
home.

4. Dear Diary, Pages
155-165
By supper, my uncle’s mood had grown too dark to
lighten up easily. He asked me more about my mother.
The interrogation made me realize how little I actually
knew about her, and how little I had asked while she
was still alive. The captain became angry with me, and
hit the table so the candle wax dripped onto the
tablecloth. “Was there a dollhouse?” He asked. Martha,
the housekeeper stood behind him and desperately
looked at me. Was this why my uncle had brought me
here? I said that I didn’t know of a dollhouse, although it
truthfully had been my most important possession ever.
Me and Sophie had played with it together almost every
day. What would have happened if I asked Mr. Marlow
to bring it with me here? After supper, I snuck off to the
kitchen. I thought Martha could answer some of my
questions. She told me that Thomas, the gardener had
made the dollhouse many years ago, for my mother. I
also found out that my mother had had four brothers.
We heard the captain’s footsteps and I rushed off to
bed.

5. Dear Diary, Pages
170-185
Today I got the chance to talk to Thomas. He was
cutting the grass in the Devil Walks, while studying a
grave with the letters olyo. Thomas said that it wasmy
mother’s you gest brother, Jolyon’s grave, and I learned
another sad thing about my mother’s family; three of her
four brothers died early in their lives. Thomas corrected
me and said that three of her three (not four) brothers
died early. The captain was only her step brother. I felt
relieved, knowing now that the captain wasn’t directly in
my family and that I now had less of an obligation to
stay here. Later on, the captain told me that he would be
leaving this place as soon as he found a certain
something. He seemed very mysterious about it, and it
made me anxious. While I helped Martha in the kitchen,
she told me about the happy, comfortable life at
Highgates when all the children were still there. She
said that sometimes my step uncle was polite and kind,
and sometimes he was cruel and harsh. She told me
about five year old Jolyon’s death, who simply didn’t
wake up one morning. And Samuel who was shot in the
woods a few months later. A while after that, my
grandmother died, partly from physical pain, and partly
from sorrow. The whole household had suspected
young Jack Severn, but kept it to themselves.

6. Dear Diary,
Pages 187-198
After finding out about the numerous deaths having
occurred in this house, I felt uneasy. Am I the next one
on my step-uncle’s list? Martha tried comforting me by
saying that I hold the key to something he truly wants,
something he thinks my mother took away from the
house many years ago. She said that he would never
harm me before he got what he needed from me. There
wasn’t much comfort for me in Martha’s words. It was
obvious that there was something in the dollhouse that
he needed. Right after thinking deeply about this, my
uncle entered the kitchen. He was in happy spirits and it
made me wonder at whether the deaths had only been
accidents. Had I been too judgmental and scared? We
ate supper together, laughing and talking. He told me he
would be away for some days on business. The
following days were happy and comfortable. I spent my
time chatting with Thomas in the gardens, or playing
carelessly around in the fields. It made me think of my
mother with bitter feelings. She had kept me away from
such pleasures my whole boyhood! What were her
reasons to do so to her only child?