Customer Reviews

The Diary of Samuel Pepys, Vol. 2: 1661

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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.

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!

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.

This is a wonderful annotated expose of seventeenth century British life throughout the city of London. Pepys' language is florid and filled with eccentricity. Also, the editing enables the original language to stand, only with contemporary spellings --to allow clarity of comprehension. The additional explanatory notes are excellent.