Born in 1633 in modest circumstances, Samuel Pepys wasn’t destined to be famous. He wasn’t a member of the aristocracy and didn’t have any innovative ideas that would propel him into the history books. What he did have was a skill with a quill and the forethought to capture everything that happened around him. From 1660 to 1669 he kept a diary, which has survived. By happy coincidence, the timing of it coincided with some of the most transformative events in London and England’s history. Pepys gives us a peek into the heart of the action, as well as a glimpse into everyday life. He probably never intended his writing to be read, let alone studied, hundreds of years later.
Pepys seems to have married Elizabeth for love, but his diary charts other sexual liaisons
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A HUMBLE BEGINNING