the great fire of london samuel pepys diary

On 1st January 1660 Samuel Pepys made his first diary entry, one that would lead to a further decade of recording everyday trivialities mixed with important events and battles. In his diary much about their tumultuous marriage is recorded, his interest in other women, his jealous moments and the fonder memories of their time together. Their marriage endured despite Samuel having affairs with their maids, and with one in particular called Deb Willet, of whom he was said to have been particularly fond. Samuel and Elisabeth’s marriage was a childless one, with some speculation that an operation to remove bladder stones had left him infertile. They married in a religious ceremony on the 10th October 1655. Pepys went on to marry Elisabeth de St Michel, a fourteen-year-old with French Huguenot ancestry. A year later he attended Cambridge University after winning a scholarship from St Paul’s where he undertook his Bachelor of Arts degree in 1654. Even in his youth Samuel witnessed momentous events that would go down in history and even attended the execution of Charles I in 1649. As a child Pepys attended Huntingdon Grammar School and later went on to study at St Paul’s.

His personal accounts documented an important period in English history from 1660 until 1669 as a historical source his diary continues to hold great value and resonance for anyone interested in learning about this period in history from an eyewitness account.Īlthough the son of a tailor, his extended family held top positions in government which helped Samuel to propel his career forward after leaving school.

The son of John, a tailor and his wife Margaret, Samuel Pepys would later become famous for the diary he used to record the everyday events that were happening whilst he worked for the Navy. On the 23rd February 1633 Samuel Pepys was born in Salisbury Court, London.

The great fire of london samuel pepys diary