Highly readable first-hand history. ( )

If an edition doesn’t mention his neighbour’s cellar flooding with turds that overflow into his cellar, then swap it for a better version! ( )

What an adventure! Samuel Pepys kept a detailed diary of his life from 1660-1669. It is considered a seminal work of history during this period which encompassed wars with the Dutch, the Restoration of Charles II, the Great Fire, and the Plague. Pepys was a clerk in the Navy office and hence I felt the diary was focused on Naval history, but not overly much. Pepys was a scoundrel who ripped off the Navy for his living and had many mistresses. There are amusing sections, especially the part of burying his Parmesan cheese for preservation during the great fire. I read the abridged version, by Robert Latham, Fellow and Pepys Librarian at Magdalene College, Cambridge, which was still 1,096 pages. ( )

Enjoying both the content and the narration by Kenneth Branagh. ( )

The most complete version of the diaries is only available in book form, by Robert Latham and William Matthews ( )