The Diary of Samuel Pepys: A Pepys Anthology

by Pepys (Author)

• New

  Paperback
  2010

  $15.86

  The perfect introduction to the Diary of Samuel Pepys, with Diary extracts arranged by subject.

  In this short anthology, selected from Samuel Pepys's famous Diary, passages are collected together by subject, providing a fresh look at some of the themes that run through the massive complete work. Robert and Linnet Latham's lively and skilful presentation allows the reader to become absorbed in a single topic without interruption, often providing new insight into Pepys's private and public life.

  We see Pepys the man of fashion, the booklover, the musician, the theatre-goer, Pepys the husband and Pepys the public servant, at work and at leisure. From festivals such as Christmas and Twelfth Night, enjoyed with family and friends, to the great events such as the Fire and the Plague described so vividly in the Diary, Pepys's life and times are revealed in all their richness and variety.

  And for the first time, we can read as continuous narrative some of the stories interwoven with daily events - the long entangled saga of his affair with Deb Willet and the tale of the Dancing Master.

  For anyone unfamiliar with Pepys, this anthology will serve as a delightful introduction, while lovers of the Diary will take pleasure in rediscovering favourite passages.

• Used

  Paperback
  2000

  $3.27

  The companion volume to the complete Diary of Samuel Pepys in its most authoritative and acclaimed edition.

  Samuel Pepys's Diary was first published in abbreviated form in 1825. A succession of new versions brought out in the Victorian era made the Diary one of the best-known books and Pepys one of the best-known figures of English history. However, not until the publication of the Latham and Matthews edition was the Diary presented in its complete form, with a newly transcribed text and the benefit of a systematic commentary. The text of the Diary is in nine volumes, followed by this Companion and an Index. The edition has justly become established as the definitive version, hailed by The Times as `one of the glories of contemporary English publishing' and by C. P. Snow as `a triumph of modern scholarship'.

  The Companion has been compiled and edited by Robert Latham, with specialist contributions from other scholars. The result of many years' research, it is an essential adjunct to the Diary text.

  Over 1,700 entries, alphabetically arranged, fill in the background details about the people and places mentioned in the Diary. In addition there are longer articles on a wide range of subjects of particular relevance to Pepys and his period, such as the Great Fire, the Dutch Wars and the Plague. Others reflect Pepys's lively interest in the arts, science and medicine, and his work for the Navy. In addition, many aspects of social history are covered in articles on, for example, dress, food, drink, taverns and travel. The book is completed by an extensive glossary, genealogical tables, a chronology and maps.

  The Companion will not only enrich every reader's appreciation of Pepys's magnificent Diary, but forms in its own right a fascinating and varied survey of seventeenth-century England.

• Used

  Hardcover
  1983

  $3.27

• New

  Paperback
  2000

  $16.75

  The Index to the complete Diary of Samuel Pepys in its most authoritative and acclaimed edition. This renowned edition of The Diary of Samuel Pepys, edited by Robert Latham and William Matthews, is the first to present a newly transcribed text of the famous Diary and to equip it with a systematic commentary. Published in eleven volumes (nine of the Diary itself, followed by a Companion volume and this Index), it has justly become regarded as the definitive edition. The Index, compiled by Robert Latham, gives the essential key to the nine volumes of the Diary text, including the introduction and the footnotes. It makes it possible to retrieve a massive variety of information, whether the user wishes to trace successive references to individual people, places and events, or to follow through a general topic, or even to locate specific references and phrases from amongst the wealth of subject matter covered by the Diary. The entries are made readily accessible by the use of sub-headings, and are also valuably detailed - often reflecting the style of the Diary itself by borrowing from Pepys's own phraseology. As a result the Index becomes more than merely functional, and offers opportunities for much enjoyable exploration. In many instances references are gathered together under important group headings that can be used to build up a composite picture of different aspects of seventeenth-century England. General topics such as books, dress, food, ships and taverns are afforded detailed entries which include, where necessary, editorial information to identify or elaborate on Pepys's own references. The Index volume completes the set, and maintains the exemplary standards of this great work of scholarship, which was hailed by The Times as 'one of the glories of contemporary English publishing'.