I find it difficult to ignore any book about Samuel Pepys, or, if you were in his time, Mr. Peeps or even Pips, all such addresses still reached him in the 17th century as he still reaches us some 310 years later. Savior and indeed, founder of modern navies, crafter and imposer of the rules that require proper Log Books to be kept and duly surrendered to the ‘properly constituted authorities’ at trip’s end, the fair quality of victuals and fair treatment of all ranks, and the recognition of merit of both ‘tarpaulin’ and upper-ranks. To his credit, to this day, is awarded the founding of polite command and perhaps of little less merit to some us, the creation of the Civil Service and its language of obtuse evasion!
Arthur Bryant makes reference in his forward to this brilliantly crafted work to the ‘yet to be written’ account of Pepys quite retirement years when he built up the stupendous library that bears his name, and prestige, in Magdalene College.
Alas, it seems the biographer’s own retirement and death left that edition to his collected works on Pepys unwritten, and we see only a glimpse of the diarists closing years, Pepys gratefully enjoyed with Hewer, his prodigy, in enforced exile from his life-long role as ”Savior of the Navy”.