Did I spell that wrong? Samuel Peepes

[ezapf]

Or is it Peeps? I had a Latin teacher who said this name will pop up in the original Trivial Pursuit game. I never saw it.

[dafyd]

Pepys. And trust me, it does appear a lot in the original Trivial Pursuit game (Genus edition).

[ezapf]

OK great. So who is he?

[archbishop]

He is most famous for writing a diary during the 17th Century which among other things gives first hand accounts of The Plague and the Great fire of London.

[ezapf]

Is Samuel Pepys widely known in the UK? It seems like my one time Latin teacher is the only one in USA who ever heard of Samuel Pepys.

[bernardo]

Oh yes - he is hugely famous in the UK.  In fact, his picture used to be on the back of one of the banknotes (bills).  He is about as famous in the UK as Benjamin Franklin or Henry Ford are in the USA.  WVNBIVDB

[Peter Pedant]

a pedant writes:

yeah he spelt it Pepys and probably pronounced it Peeps, although he did have relations called Pepiz

He wrote diaries in current short hand.And then when the shorthand was rediscovered his diaries could be read. 1659 -1669. He is a clerk in the Navy Office (not the admiralty, which was different) and involved in thefinancial running of the Navy. \

Diary writing in the 1600s was motivated by the idea of having to give an account of yourself from day to day after you had died and this means that diarists tended to record their inner feelings. This is what makes a diary from 1665 so readable.

Whenever he makes luuurve,he does it in Latin. That presumably is why your latin master liked him so much. He accounts for Charles II having so many lovers, because the "Kings --------- is so big" He describes the Plague and Fire, is the only eye witness account of the Kings return to England in 1660, describes Charles losing his temper in public - during the inquiry into the English defeat by the Dutch.

He also descibes DOwning - the fella after whom Downing St is named and also describes Penn as one of his colleagues - after whom Pennsylkvania is named or whose son gives his name to pennsyl

Bryant does a good survey of Pepys diaries which i am currently reading if you cant stomach all nine volumes.

[maxi29]

I'm not sure that Pepys is *that* well known (and I don't remember him being on the back of a banknote). A company that makes diaries is named after thim though, and lots of people would recognise the name through that. His diaries are well worth a read though - a fascinating description of life in Restoration England.

[sam1ellie]

Pepys