Samuel Pepys
by Claire Tomalin
narrated by Jill Balcon
"Samuel Pepys kept a diary in which he wrote with astonishing candour about the life he saw around him in London in the 1660s, and about his private desires and ambitions. The diary was kept for fewer than 10 years of his long life: Claire Tomalin tells the whole story of the Fleet Street tailor's son who made himself rich and powerful, an MP and adviser to royalty."I've run out of Audible books and my next credit isn't until 27 February, so in the meantime I'm re-reading a book that Mr A's parents gave me on CD, but it's abridged, unfortunately. His whole story is quite extraordinary, though - the chances of the diary being preserved were slim, and then there's the quality and honesty of his writing, and the period of time he happened to record being so interesting, covering the Great Plague in 1665 and the Great Fire of London in 1666. And, not least, that he was an ordinary chap who happened to have relatives close to the aristocracy, and found himself on board the ship that fetched Charles II from France (or was it Holland?) at the Restoration, despite being a full-on supporter of Oliver Cromwell and the republic.
2 comments:
Glad to see your reading varies so much - sounds alot like me actually. I'll read anything pretty much except for romance novels...yuck!
Yes, I'll read pretty much anything, and like you, aims, I hate to leave a book unfinished.
At the moment, though, I have too many books waiting. Seven paperbacks are in my 'to read' pile: five novels and two non-fiction. Plus I get at least one audiobook a month for the car journeys, plus all the podcasts I subscribe to (22 at the last count!) and all those blogs to read. It's only strength of will that gets my coursework done. I'll have to read less when revision kicks in again in May.
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