Samuel Pepys's diary is the best introduction to Restoration
England there is, and for this book Robert and Linnet Latham have
selected representative extracts from it and collected them under
various headings showing Pepys in his public and private life.
Important events at Court and major happenings such as the Great
Fire and the Plague as well as more everyday topics in the wider
arena of London are included, and there are shorter sections and
entries marking the beginning and the ending of the diary. Each
section contains an informative introduction which places the
extracts in context and the text itself has explanatory
interpolations. This approach works very well, both as a sample of
what Pepys has to offer to those new to him, and as an accessible
selection for those returning to passages they know and love. Pepys
is such a crucial observer of major events in 17th-century English
history and he comments so directly about them that the reader
almost feels he is looking over the diarist's shoulder. Pepys was
on board the ship returning Charles II to his throne in 1660 and is
moved to tears by Charles's hardships after the Battle of
Worcester. In 1668 he speaks for the Navy Board in Parliament and
writes that one opinion was that he 'spoke the best of any man in
England'. In his description of the Great Fire of London, he is
touched by the plight of the pigeons who burn as they keep
returning to buildings in flames. When he has problems finding the
gold, part of his life savings, which was buried as a precaution
after the Dutch raided the Medway in 1667, he comments, sadly, 'how
painful it is sometimes to keep money, as well as to get it'. The
extracts here are a vivid and lively taste of this man's remarkable
diary. (Kirkus UK)
'Let Pepys's Diary fall open at almost any page at random and he is joyously and compulsively quotable.'
'Observer'
In this short anthology, selected from Samuel Pepys's famous Diary, passages are collected together by subject, providing a fresh look at themes that run through the massive complete work. Through Robert and Linnet Latham's lively and skilful presentation, we see Pepys as a man of fashion, booklover, musician, theatre-goer, husband and public servant, at work and at leisure. From festivals such as Christmas with family and friends, and his affair with Deb Willett, to the Great Fire and the Plague, described so vividly in the Diary, Pepys's life and times are revealed in all their richness and variety.
For anyone unfamiliar with Pepys, this anthology will serve as a delightful introduction, while lovers of the Diary will take pleasure in rediscovering favourite passages.
Pepys was a rogue. And a rogue's memoirs are always entertaining…They are raw, honest and unapologetic. This is what makes them compulsive reading.'
Roy Hattersley, 'Sunday Express'
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