The Diary of Samuel Pepys, Vol 1 - 3 - Samuel Pepys Audiobook

Written by Samuel Pepys
Read by Leighton Pugh, David Timson
Format: MP3
Bitrate: 64 Kbps
Unabridged

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The Diary of Samuel Pepys is one of the most entertaining documents in English history. Written between 1660 and 1669, as Pepys was establishing himself as a key administrator in the naval office, it is an intimate portrait of life in 17th-century England covering his professional and personal activities, including, famously, his love of music, theatre, food, wine and his peccadilloes. This Naxos AudioBooks production is the world premiere recording of the diary in its entirety; the result of many years of scholarship by Robert Latham (Magdalene College, Cambridge) and William Matthews (University of California).

It has been divided into three volumes. Volume I covers the opening years of the Restoration and introduces us to many of the key characters - family, government and royalty. Pepys was there when Charles II returned to England, and he lived through those opening years of the Stuart monarchy, with its revenge on the regicides. He also recorded the reopening of theatres, and how he relaxed from the Puritan way of life.

Volume II covers some of the most famous passages in the diary. Pepys was there, in London, during the terrible plague of 1665. And he was there during the Great Fire of London the following year, playing an active role in the actual event and the aftermath.

Volume III presents the last three years of Pepys’ diary. By then he was in his mid-30s and confident in his ability to deal with differing political factions within the Navy Office; his affection for his wife, Elizabeth, grew ever stronger despite wandering eyes, and he found he was worth £6,000 and more - a considerable sum for the son of a tailor, who started with nothing. His concerns with his eyes grew, and it was with some regret that he stopped writing his diary at the end of May 1669.

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