Samuel Pepys: The Unequalled Self

Rating:	★★★
Category:	Books
Author:	Claire Tomalin

I've been on a history kick this year, trying to catch up on all the stuff I don't know. I find the 17th century fascinating for some reason. I read James Gleick's biog of Newton (bit dry) before tackling Neal Stephenson's Quicksilver (fictional, but with some historical characters).

I'd heard that this Pepys book was good. Tanya devoured it while I was still on something else. It's generally good stuff, but drags a bit in places. He was a bit of a character. It's taken me a good while to read it due to general lack of time and I didn't even read all the notes. I did in the Newton book, but it's a pain to keep jumping to the back of the book to find them, even with two bookmarks.

I'm not sure if I'll tackle the actual diaries and these are pretty long and the language can be hard work. There's a bite-size version at Pepys Diary that gives you it day by day, with notes.