The Diary of Samuel Pepys by Samuel Pepys

So - not just a return of a king (which as we know, led to other problems), but a return to more or less representative parliament. I had assumed that this was just a swing back towards the Royalists, but Pepys makes it clear that, for many people, it was a return to democracy, which the elitist Rump parliament had been denying the country for so long. 1660 was an interesting year: the year Charles II returned. I usually skip through prefaces, but I read all 159 pages of this one. I found this more interesting than expected. Lord Braybrooke's notes have been retained with minor corrections whenever they appeared useful, identifying persons, places and obscure words. Mynors Bright, published in 1875-1879 from his own typescript. The text of this edition is based on that of the Rev. In his selection of the material the editor has been guided by its human appeal and historic interest, and has preserved intact the drama of Pepys's public and private life. Volume 1 covers the period from its beginning in January 1660 to March 1664, thus covering an interesting stage of Pepys's career, since it was in July 1660 that he became a clerk of the Privy Seal and clerk of the 'Acts of the Navy'. No less a part of the interest of the Diary lies however in the way it allows us to share in Pepys's home and social life, his interests and ambitions, friends and acquaintances. Pepys himself was closely concerned with contemporary events in his employment at the Admiralty, where, although he began in a minor position, he eventually effected drastic and far-reaching reforms. it is very entertaining thus to be transported into the very heart of a time so long gone by and to be admitted into the domestic intimacy, as well as the public councils of a man of great activity and circulation in the reign of Charles II.' Edited and abridged by literary critic and author Richard Le Gallienne, this edition features an Introduction by Robert Louis Stevenson.Pepys's Diary covers the years 1660 to 1669, and is one of the most vivid and minute authorities for the events of the Restoration period, ranging from the manners and scandals of the court to Pepys's own interests and weaknesses. In 1825, when Pepys's memoirs were first published, Francis Jeffrey of The Edinburgh Review declared, 'We can scarcely say that we wish it a page shorter. Originally written in a cryptic shorthand, Pepys's diary provides an astonishingly frank and diverting account of political intrigues and naval, church, and cultural affairs, as well as a quotidian journal of daily life in London during the Restoration. A witness to the coronation of Charles II, the Great Plague of 1665, and the Great Fire of 1666, Pepys chronicled the events of his day. a major work of English literature, writes the renowned historian Paul Johnson. is one of our greatest historical records and. Synopsis: The diary which Samuel Pepys kept from January 1660 to May 1669.

The Diary of Samuel Pepys by Samuel Pepys