The Diary of Samuel Pepys

Richard Le Gallienne's elegant abridgment of theDiarycaptures the essential writings of Samuel Pepys (16331703), a remarkable man who witnessed the coronation of Charles II, the Great Plague of 1665, and the Great Fire of 1666. Originally scribbled in a cryptic shorthand, Pepys's quotidian journal of life in Restoration London provides an astonishingly frank and diverting account of political intrigues; naval, church, and cultural affairs; and the sexual escapades and domestic strife of a man with a voracious, childlike appetite for living. "As a human document theDiaryis literally unique," notes Le Gallienne. "It will have a still greater value for its historical importance."

<b>Richard Le Gallienne</b> (1867–1947) was one of Britain’s leading literary critics. His abridgment of <i>The Diary of Samuel Pepys</i> is considered a triumph of editing.<br><br><b>Robert Louis Stevenson</b> (1850–1894) is one of the most widely read and admired novelists of the nineteenth century.