What's Inside
Samuel Pepys tracks the Restoration of the monarchy in London through a lens that ranges from the high-stakes management of the Navy to the price of buckskin gloves. As Clerk of the Acts and later Secretary to the Admiralty, he records his daily movements between his office, the tavern, and his household. The entries document the return of the King, the ongoing naval friction with the Dutch, and the mundane domesticity of his life, including the hot venison pasty served at home and the specific coins paid to his servants. This collection restores the full shorthand manuscript, offering a granular view of the Restoration years, from the formal mechanics of naval victualling to the social habits of his peers.
Works & figures
- Samuel Pepys
Admiralty Secretary and shorthand diarist recording his daily expenditures and observations. (in “THE DIARY OF SAMUEL PEPYS M.A. F.R.S.”)
- King Charles II
The returning monarch whose arrival in London marks the diary's early entries. (in “JUNE 1660”)
- The Phoenix
A captured Dutch ship that becomes a source of legal and financial trouble. (in “act; they having liberty to act for their own profit on Wednesdays and”)
- Lord Sandwich
Pepys's patron whose financial affairs and prize goods Pepys helps manage. (in “part with, and so endanger the losing of my money, which I lent upon my”)
What it's really about
- Public and Private Balance
- Merging high-level naval administration with granular domestic complaints.
- Financial Advancement
- Tracking personal net worth and the acquisition of silver luxury goods.
Why it's memorable
- Losing two shillings at ninepins while avoiding a superior who was currently taking medicine.
- Digging in the Tower of London cellars for buried treasure and finding nothing.
Where to start
Begin with January 1660 to witness the immediate social shift as the monarchy is restored and the diary begins in earnest.
For your book club
- How Pepys's shorthand allowed him to record scandals he wouldn't dare say aloud.
- The contrast between the grave business of the Navy and Pepys's obsession with venison.