Uses Pepys's surviving papers to examine reading practices, book collecting, and the exchange of information in the late 17th century.

Samuel Pepys gives a unique first hand account of life during the Great Plague of London and the Great Fire of London. Pepys stayed in London while many of the wealthy fled the city in the face of the plague. His careful observation and interest in the details of people's lives as well as the events of the time are unparalleled.

Reproduction of the original: The Diary of Samuel Pepys M.A. F.R.S. by Samuel Pepys

Selections from Samuel Pepys' diary offers a vivid picture of seventeenth century British life, and are accompanied by background information concerning his life and times

Introduction: curiouser and curiouser -- 'The world do not grow old at all' -- Two worlds -- The decade of the diaries -- Prodigious revolutions -- 'Even private families are ... the best of governments' -- Private lives -- 'I do indulge myself a little the more in pleasure' -- Take nobody's word for it -- Pleasure above all things -- Hortulan affairs -- Exotic extravagances -- The affection which we have to books -- Epilogue: and so to bed -- Appendix: the true domestick intelligence