Pepys's Later Diaries

By Samuel Pepys

Pepys never resumed the personal Diary which he abandoned in 1669 fearing he was going blind. He was one of the greatest accidental historians, never intending to record for posterity, but for amusement. This book makes these diaries available to the general reader. These documents enhance the picture of Pepys as a politician and civil servant.

• Language: English
• Publisher: The History Press
• Release date: Feb 15, 2006
• ISBN: 9780752495323

Reviews for Pepys's Later Diaries

[devenish_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Comprises five short diary pieces written by Pepys after the main work.As is well known,Pepys decided to discontinue his diary writing as he feared for his eyesight. What is much less known is that over a period of time,beginning about 11 years after the end of the main diary,he began working on them again.So,here we are presented with five,quite short pieces,which all relate to a specific and important event in his life.The most important,and the nearest to a proper diary,is that known as 'The Tangier Journal'. This is of great import and details events in 1683 when Tangier was a British possession and it was decided to withdraw,as for a variety of reasons,the whole thing became impossible to administrate properly. Pepys was sent to pay out compensation to residents and to help tie things up.The other four extracts are 1. The Brooke House Journal. 1670. 2. The King's Bench Journal.1679-80. 3. Proceedings with James and Harris 1680. 4. Diary of the Special Commission 1686.As is readily admitted in the introduction,these extracts are but pale shadows of the 'Great' diary,but are nevertheless of immense importance to anyone with the slightest interest in Samuel Pepys and the time in which he lived.