Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Historian De La Bédoyère (Populus) presents a darkly fascinating new transcription of the diaries of Samuel Pepys, a statesman and notorious womanizer whose private journals offer a shockingly candid glimpse of 17th-century England. Pepys, the author explains in his introduction, was the son of a "modest tailor" who witnessed the Great Fire of London and the execution of Charles I, survived the civil war, and rose through the ranks of Charles II's government. Pepys also inexplicably "chose to record his private life in graphic and incriminating detail" in a secretive shorthand. Yet Bedoyere argues that "the true extent and implications of Pepys's self-confessed adulterous activity, including the coercion and sexual violence... have often been... evaded" by previous transcriptions. They are presented here in full, including molestations of servant girls and assaults on his wife. Between these lurid scenes, there are frequent passages of "self-disgust or even loathing," as Pepys seems to use his diary to both "help expiate his guilt" and "create a titillating record of... pleasure." Besides the shocking confessions, the diaries are notable for Pepys's frank assessments of the depravity of Charles II's court and the horrors of the plague years, as well as for their distinctive form as a kind of proto--stream of consciousness. This unique work of scholarship conjures from the past a captivating if wretched figure. (Apr.)
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Review by Kirkus Book Review
The famous diary, with all the nasty bits in plain English. As de la Bédoyère notes in his introduction, the 1660-69 diary was written in shorthand, and the portions describing Pepys' active, adulterous sex life were routinely omitted until a complete transcription was published beginning in the 1970s. Even then, the most graphic portions were not translated from the polyglot phrase, in a mixture of French and Spanish Pepys devised to further mask his transgressions. These passages are rendered in English in this peculiar text, which narrates Pepys' life and illustrates it with substantial excerpts from the diaries. However, de la Bédoyère's narration often merely summarizes what readers can see for themselves in the excerpts. Those amply make the point that Pepys was a lousy husband, abusive employer, and shameless exploiter of his position as Clerk of the Acts on Britain's Navy Board. Diary entries show him criticizing his wife, Elisabeth, for everything from wearing a dress he deemed "silly" to leaving some belongings in a coach, "though I confess, she did give them to me to look after." He treated his female household servants like playthings to be fondled and happily took sexual advantage of women seeking promotions or favors for their husbands, often, the author notes, with the collusion of their husbands. But the explicit sex scenes in English that are the big selling point quickly become tedious, and although de la Bédoyère mentions it only in his footnotes,The Dark Side of Samuel Pepys by Geoffrey Pimm covered the same ground in 2017. Within the context of the entire diary, famed for its vivid evocation of Restoration England, these passages would be a sobering reminder of women's subordinate status in that era and the willingness of a man in power to profit from it. As the sole topic, it would be better served by a short article. More than you want to know. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
