The Diary of Samuel Pepys: Volume II - 1661

by Samuel Pepys and Henry B. Wheatley

Book Overview

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...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0004990226
• ISBN13: 9780004990224
• Release Date: December 1995
• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Length: 267 Pages
• Weight: 1.21 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.4" x 8.5"

Customer Reviews

King of Diarists

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.

Everything Old Is New Again

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!

exceptional firsthand research of the seventeenth century

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.

Nothing Better than More Pepys!

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.