The Diary of Samuel Pepys, kept from 1660 to 1669, is the private journal of a London naval administrator. Written in shorthand and published only from 1825, it gives an unrivalled picture of the Restoration, the Great Plague and the Great Fire of London.
The diary
On 1 January 1660 Pepys began a diary that he kept almost every day for nine and a half years, filling six volumes, some 1.25 million words.
He recorded public events, the return of Charles II, the coronation, the plague of 1665, the fire of 1666, the Dutch raid on the Medway, alongside his work, his meals, his music, his visits to the theatre and his quarrels and reconciliations with his wife Elizabeth.
Shorthand and secrets
Pepys wrote in the shorthand system of Thomas Shelton, and used a mixture of French, Spanish and Latin words to hide his most intimate confessions.
He bequeathed the volumes to Magdalene College, Cambridge, with his library. The Reverend John Smith deciphered them between 1819 and 1822, and Lord Braybrooke published a selection in 1825.
The Great Fire
Pepys's account of the Great Fire of September 1666 is one of its most vivid testimonies: he saw it from the Tower, took a boat on the river, warned the king and the Duke of York, and saw pigeons burning their wings.
The complete, unexpurgated diary was published only between 1970 and 1983, in the edition of Robert Latham and William Matthews.
Anecdotes
The end of the diary
Pepys stopped writing on 31 May 1669, believing that the strain of writing was making him blind. He did not go blind, and lived another thirty-four years.
A diary in his library
The six volumes are still kept in Pepys's own bookcases in the Pepys Library at Magdalene College, arranged by size as he ordered.
Frequently asked questions
How long did Pepys keep his diary?
From 1 January 1660 to 31 May 1669, nearly ten years.
When was the diary first published?
In a selection in 1825; the complete text appeared between 1970 and 1983.
What famous events does it describe?
The Restoration of Charles II, the Great Plague of 1665 and the Great Fire of London of 1666.