Samuel Pepys was, famously, an extraordinary diarist, offering a vivid first-hand account of life in Restoration England from 1660 to 1669. He was an eyewitness to the Great Fire of London in 1666 and recorded fascinating details of the ravages of the bubonic plague. His diaries were also intensely personal, with entries that echo familiarly across the centuries, whether recounting his rivalries and triumphs in his job as a naval administrator, his frustrations (can’t find a coach in the rain!), his delight in friends or boredom with dull sermons.
