A new biography of one of the most popular and interesting figures in English history with all his complex energies, compulsions, contradictions and constant, rich awareness of life. Stephen Coote carefully charts the enormous range of talent Pepys brought to his work for the Navy, both in peace and war. In so doing he provides a fascinating insight into the emerging civil service. He also shows how great national events impinged on Pepys: the Plague; the Fire of London; the Dutch Wars; the brief but fateful reign of James II and the Glorious Revolution.
'Samuel Pepys' also explores the private man. We see Pepys's relationship with his wife, the silly, exasperating, bullyable, loving and beloved Elizabeth. He was a theatre-goer, and also passionately devoted to music. His interest in the new world of scientific enquiry was such that he was an early member of the Royal Society and eventually its president.
