Samuel Pepys’ Diary: A Window into 17th Century England
The Diary of Samuel Pepys
Diary by Samuel Pepys
Samuel Pepys (23 February 1633 – 26 May 1703) was an administrator of the Navy of England and Member of Parliament, most famous for the diary he kept for a decade while still a relatively young man.
Pepys had no maritime experience, but he rose to be the Chief Secretary to the Admiralty under both King Charles II and King James II through patronage, hard work, and his talent for administration. His influence and reforms at the Admiralty were important in the early professionalisation of the Royal Navy.
The detailed private diary that Pepys kept from 1660 until 1669 was first published in the 19th century and is one of the most important primary sources for the English Restoration period. It provides a combination of personal revelation and eyewitness accounts of great events, such as the Great Plague of London, the Second Dutch War, and the Great Fire of London.
| Place | St Olave’s, London, England |
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On 1 January 1660 (“1 January 1659/1660” in contemporary terms), Pepys began to keep a diary. He recorded his daily life for almost ten years. This record of a decade of Pepys’ life is more than a million words long and is often regarded as Britain’s most celebrated diary.
Pepys has been called the greatest diarist of all time due to his frankness in writing concerning his own weaknesses and the accuracy with which he records events of daily British life and major events in the 17th century.
Pepys wrote about the contemporary court and theatre (including his amorous affairs with the actresses), his household, and major political and social occurrences.
In later years he became a great benefactor of his college, to which he left his famous library of books and manuscripts.
The diary by which Pepys is chiefly known was kept between his 27th and 36th years.
It is far more than an ordinary record of its writer’s thoughts and actions; it is a supreme work of art, revealing on every page the capacity for selecting the small, as well as the large, essential that conveys the sense of life; and it is probably, after the Bible and James Boswell’s Life of Samuel Johnson, the best bedside book in the English language.
He kept a diary to record his ideas and experiences. He did not intend it to be shared or published. In fact, he wrote it in code to ensure that it would not be easily understood.
Text Analysis: Diary
A diary is a daily account of a person’s own thoughts, experiences, and feelings. A diary is a primary source. A primary source is a source of information created by a person who was present at the event being described. Some diaries provide valuable insights into historical events and eras. Samuel Pepys’ diary merited publication in part because of the fascinating portraits it presents of English life 350 years ago.
Reading Skill: Connect to History
Comparing the events described in the text with events in your own words is a way to connect with the text you are reading. For example, you may find yourself comparing the historical events described in this selection to recent events you have learned about or experienced in your lifetime. Making connections between events described in a text with your experiences can help you gain a greater understanding of what you read.
Reading Purpose
Read to find out how life in the 1600s compares to life today.
Background
Is a vivid firsthand account of events that occurred more than 300 years ago. As a personal secretary to a British admiral, Pepys witnessed the return of King Charles II to England from exile in France. He also was present during the Great Fire of London in 1666, which destroyed about 13,000 homes and most of London’s government buildings.