The Diary of Samuel Pepys: A Selection by Samuel Pepys

Previously published as The Shorter Pepys, Samuel Pepys' The Diary of Samuel Pepys: A Selection is a collection of scintillating first-hand accounts of Restoration England, from the most tumultuous events to the simplest domestic pleasures, selected and edited by Robert Latham. The 1660s represent a turning point in English history, and for the main events - the Restoration, the Dutch War, the Great Plague, the Fire of London - Pepys provides a definitive eyewitness account. As well as recording public and historical events, Pepys paints a vivid picture of his personal life, from his socializing and amorous entanglements, to his theatre-going and his work at the Navy Board.

Unequalled for its frankness, high spirits and sharp observations, the diary is both a literary masterpiece and a marvellous portrait of seventeenth-century life. Samuel Pepys (1633-1703) achieved fame as a naval administrator and a friend and colleague of the powerful and learned. For nearly ten years he kept a private diary in which he recorded life in Restoration London, commenting on politics, public events, and private matters.

If you enjoyed The Diary of Samuel Pepys, you might like Alexander Pope's The Rape of the Lock and Other Major Writings, also available in Penguin Classics. ''For anyone who wants to get to grips with Pepys but quails at more than a million words, here is the solution: Robert Latham's beautifully judged abridgment of the Diary. Pure pleasure'Clare Tomalin, author of Samuel Pepys: The Unequalled Self'This prince of Diarists, this most amiable and admirable of men, has at last been worthily served'Paul Johnson, Spectator