Samuel Pepys
My one-sided friendship with Samuel Pepys ("Peeps") began here:
84 Charing Cross Road
A charming 1987 film starring Anne Bancroft as the New York writer Helene Hanff and Anthony Hopkins as her London bookseller friend, Frank Doel. My ears perked up in the scene where Helene is writing this to Frank:
"Mr. Doel! WHAT KIND OF A PEPYS' DIARY DO YOU CALL THIS? This is not Pepys' Diary, this is some busy-body editor's miserable collection of EXCERPTS from Pepys' Diary may he rot. I could just spit. Where is January twelfth 1688 where his wife chased him out of bed and around the bedroom with a red hot poker?"
I think the year in this transcript has a typo as the Diary ends in 1669 but still, wouldn't you like to have seen that?
The words "Pepys' Diary" grabbed me. I remembered I owned "The Diary of Samuel Pepys". Part of the big library I purchased in 1977 and languishing someplace in the stacks. I pulled out the books and started reading. Of course I was instantly hooked because I love anything British and I love diaries, letters, etc. Whenever I could find a bit of time to read without interruption, usually on a Sunday, I would pick up the Diary and read through as many entries as I could. It was slow going but I made good progress over time.
Also over time, I collected a few books about Restoration London, a fictional Mrs. Pepys Diary, and the definitive 11-volume set.
Pepys Shelf
I discovered that the Pepys Diary is one of the works I have in common with Helene Hanff's Legacy Library on LibraryThing. I just love how things connect, don't you?
Today you are only meeting Samuel. Now and then I will tell you more about Samuel, his wife Elizabeth, the wondrous decade he wrote about and give you an update on my progress through the Diary. I am reading the year's entries for 1668 now, the next to last year. And, I will tell you about these pictures.
Today you are only meeting Samuel. Now and then I will tell you more about Samuel, his wife Elizabeth, the wondrous decade he wrote about and give you an update on my progress through the Diary. I am reading the year's entries for 1668 now, the next to last year. And, I will tell you about these pictures.
Pepys Walk
And, here is a teaser for you.
If you want to get a flavor of Pepys' world, check out this wonderful movie.
The Great Fire of London
If you want to get a flavor of Pepys' world, check out this wonderful movie.
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