The Diary of Samuel Pepys: 1661 [Paperback]

Samuel Pepys (Author), William Matthews (Editor), Robert Latham (Editor)

Book Description

Series: Diary of Samuel Pepys | Publication Date: December 1995

The second volume of the complete Diary of Samuel Pepys in its most authoritative and acclaimed edition. This complete edition of the Diary of Samuel Pepys comprises eleven volumes -- nine volumes of text and footnotes (with an introduction of 120 pages in Volume I), a tenth volume of commentary (The Companion) and an eleventh volume of Index. Each of the first eight volumes contains one whole calendar year of the diary, from January to December. The ninth volume runs from January 1668 to May 1669. The Diary was first published in abbreviated form in 1825. A succession of new editions, re-issues and selections, published in the Victorian era, made the Diary one of the best-known books, and Pepys one of the best-known figures, of English history. But in none of these versions -- not even in the Wheatley, which for long stood as the standard edition -- was there a reliable, still less a full text, and in none of them was there a commentary with any claim to completeness. This edition was in preparation for many years, and remains the first in which the entire Diary is printed and in which an attempt has been made at systematic comment on it. The primary aim of the principal editors was to see that the Diary was presented in a manner suitable to the historical and literary importance of its contents. At the same time they had in mind the interests of the wide public of English-speaking people to whom the diarist himself, rather than the importance of what he wrote, is what matters.

Editorial Reviews

Review

'The Latham-Matthews transcription of Pepys' Diary is one of the glories of contemporary English publishing.' The Times 'The pleasure of Pepys -- of reading him -- is his own pleasure in experience! Pepys' Diary is the cheerful self-report, not of the man eminent in naval history, not of the historical witness, but of the unobjectionable hedonist.' Guardian 'Here, in one of the finest feats in all the long history of scholarship, is Pepys' Diary, once and for all. Exegi monumentum aere perennius.' Observer 'The editors have achieved the impossible! one can now read the Diary perfectly easily, month by month, year by year! here at last is a really learned edition where the learning is put at the disposal of the layman.' New Statesman 'It isn't often that one encounters a publication -- especially of this magnitude -- which achieves complete perfection, but there is no doubt that this does.' Sir Arthur Bryant

About the Author

Robert Latham, cbe, ma, fba -- Fellow and Pepys Librarian, Magdalene College, Cambridge, and formerly reader in History, Royal Holloway College, University of London. William Matthews, ma, ph.d, d.lett -- Late Professor of English, University of California, Los Angeles, and Fellow of Birkbeck College, University of London.

Product Details

• Paperback: 267 pages
• Publisher: Harpercollins (December 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0004990226
• ISBN-13: 978-0004990224
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.4 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,701,331 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Nothing Better than More Pepys!, January 20, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: The Diary of Samuel Pepys, Vol. 2: 1661 (Paperback)

Having only read "excerpts" before -- and the "shorter" Pepys is massive -- I supposed the short version was the exciting and interesting parts and the complete diary was the boring version that put everything in.
Well it turns out all PEPYS IS EQUALLY GOOD. The reason? This man loved life and said so, with great enthusiasm, and at the same time was a conscientious and effective(not always right or wise) public servant. This startling mix, in the end makes him seem a completely modern person. Fascinating.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Everything Old Is New Again, August 31, 2009

By 

Poniplaizy (Mount Joy, PA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Diary Of Samuel Pepys 1661 (Paperback)

First off, you really can't go wrong no matter which edition of Pepys you start with. If you've read the abridged version, don't think that only the boring stuff was left out. Actually, what you missed are the little details that bring Pepys, his life, and seventeenth-century London to life even more vividly.

If you think history is dull and that people's lives were so different from ours that we can't relate to them, Pepys will show you a great time. It's all there: marital spats, office politics, home improvement projects, keeping up with the Joneses, even road rage! Focused through Pepys's lens, we can see that human nature and human foibles are timeless, and that our lives are a continuation of, not a divergence from, those of the past. For this insight alone, the book is valuable. And for the price, it's a steal. Well done, and highly recommended--you will be purchasing volume 2 before you know it!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars King of Diarists, May 15, 2010

By 

Sirin (London, UK) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Diary of Samuel Pepys, Vol. 2: 1661 (Paperback)

Samuel Pepys is a man about London for all ages. Intelligent, sociable and wide ranging in his interests he paints a marvelous tapestry of Restoration London, including its seismic events: the Plague, the Fire, The Dutch War. A tireless worker with a gift for administrative detail in his post as a naval civil servant, Pepys also found time for many romantic liaisons which he depicted in his famous code and had an appreciation of the finer things in life such as theatre trips and good food (there is a great bit as the fire of London approaches and Pepys buries his precious wine and parmesan cheese along with his vital papers to protect them).

Pepys comes across as a throughly rounded human, with his woes and anxieties, especially over his health depicted as much as his triumphs. He is truly a man who lived his alloted span of life to the full, appreciated all there was about his era and times. And for that his diaries are a terrific historical testament.