Pepys: Fire of London (Dramatized) In Pudding Lane, on 2 September, after a day of slaving over a hot oven, Thomas Farrinor, baker to King Charles II, went to bed unaware that his oven was still alight. The smouldering embers ignited some nearby firewood and by 1 o'clock in the morning his house was ablaze. A strong wind on that September morning ensured that sparks flew everywhere . . . Samuel Pepys' diary of the following days, dramatised by Hattie Naylor, reveals the unfolding drama.
Samuel Pepys achieved fame as a naval administrator, a friend and colleague of the powerful and learned, a figure of substance. But for nearly ten years he kept a private diary in which he recorded, with unparalleled openness and sensitivity to the turbulent world around him, exactly what it was like to be a young man in Restoration London. This diary lies at the heart of Claire Tomalin's biography.
Added by: jaybeere | Karma: 320.01 | Fiction literature | 30 October 2007
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The Diary Of Samuel Pepys
Diarist and naval administrator Samuel Pepys studied at Cambridge, rose rapidly in the naval service, and became secretary to the Admiralty in 1672. He lost his office and was imprisoned in the Tower of London because of his alleged complicity in the Popish Plot (1678-9), but was reappointed in 1684 and in that same year became president of the Royal Society.