The Diary of Samuel Pepys 1664
by Samuel Pepys
'The Diary of Samuel Pepys 1664' Summary
Aside from day-to-day activities, Pepys also commented on the significant and turbulent events of his nation. England was in disarray when he began writing his diary. Oliver Cromwell had died just a few years before, creating a period of civil unrest and a large power vacuum to be filled. Pepys had been a strong supporter of Cromwell, but he converted to the Royalist cause upon the Protector's death. He was on the ship that returned Charles II to England to take up his throne, and gave first-hand accounts of other significant events from the early years of the Restoration, such as the coronation of Charles II, the Great Plague, the Great Fire of London and the Anglo–Dutch Wars.
Pepys did not plan on his contemporaries ever seeing his diary, which is evident from the fact that he wrote in shorthand and sometimes in a "code" of various Spanish, French, and Italian words (especially when describing his illicit affairs). However, Pepys often juxtaposed profanities in his native English amidst his "code" of foreign words, a practice which would reveal the details to any casual reader. He did intend future generations to see the diary, as evidenced by its inclusion in his library and its catalogue before his death along with the shorthand guide he used and the elaborate planning by which he ensured his library survived intact after his death.
The women whom he pursued, his friends, and his dealings are all laid out. His diary reveals his jealousies, insecurities, trivial concerns, and his fractious relationship with his wife. It has been an important account of London in the 1660s. The juxtaposition of his commentary on politics and national events, alongside the very personal, can be seen from the beginning.
Book Details
Author
Samuel Pepys
England
Samuel Pepys was an English diarist and naval administrator. He served as administrator of the Royal Navy and Member of Parliament and is most famous for the diary he kept for a decade. Pepys had no m...
More on Samuel PepysDownload eBooks
Listen/Download Audiobook
- Select Speed
Related books
Memoir, Correspondence and Miscellanies, Volume I by Thomas Jefferson
It is a collection of personal writings by Thomas Jefferson, the third president of the United States. This book includes a compilation of his persona...
A Cruising Voyage Around the World by Woodes Rogers
"A Cruising Voyage Around the World" penned by the intrepid Woodes Rogers is an enthralling firsthand account of a daring expedition that navigates th...
My Experiences in a Lunatic Asylum by Herman Charles Merivale
It's a very interesting story from a man broken by an absurd system trying to recount what happened to him in order to at least come to terms with it...
Satan's Diary by Leonid Nikolayevich Andreyev
In "Satan's Diary", Andreyev summoned up his boundless disillusionment in an absorbing satire on human life. Fearlessly and mercilessly he hurled the...
A Soldier's Diary by Ralph Scott
This 1923 memoir of a World War I soldier (Royal Engineer and hand-to-hand combatant) is a well written much respected first-hand account of the bruta...
A Personal Record by Joseph Conrad
A Personal Record is an autobiographical work (or "fragment of biography") by Joseph Conrad, published in 1912. It has also been published under the...
Memoirs of the Author of A Vindication of the Rights of Woman by William Godwin
What was the woman who wrote the first feminist manifesto really like? In his Memoirs of the Author of A Vindication of the Rights of Woman, William...
Indian Boyhood by Charles Eastman
What was it like to grow up as a Native American boy in the late 19th century? Indian Boyhood is a memoir by Charles Alexander Eastman, a Santee Dako...
Eleven Years in the Rocky Mountains and Life on the Frontier by Frances A. Fuller Victor
The book details the author's experiences living and working in the American West during the mid-19th century, a time of great change and upheaval in...
The Story of a Common Soldier of Army Life in the Civil War, 1861-1865 by Leander Stillwell
The Story of a Common Soldier is a compelling coming of age tale that will appeal not only to Civil War buffs but to anyone who enjoys autobiographies...
Reviews for The Diary of Samuel Pepys 1664
No reviews posted or approved, yet...