I have never read much in the way of biography - the occasional footballer, maybe. But historical figures, almost none. Until now. I have spent the last few weeks reading Claire Tomalin's "Samuel Pepys: the Unequalled Self". Oh my, what I have been missing. This is spellbinding stuff, beautifully written and opening up new vistas for me of the English Civil War, the Stuarts and their failings and the sheer wantonness of 17th century life.
It is an enormous read and reading a couple of dozen pages in bed each night means I have spaced this endeavour out over several weeks. Which I can only imagine matches in some way the incredible amount of research which must have gone into writing this book. So I feel I am honouring the spirit of the author; I hope she would be proud of me.
Obviously the primary source material for the book is Pepys' diary. Excerpts from the diary in the book make me realise how much I need an interlocutor if I am to understand his words. 17th century English, interspersed with words in foreign tongues and encased in a florid and expressive vernacular render much of the language impenetrable to the non scholar that I am. Pepys' education clearly doesn't match mine; his is classical in style and mine is scientific modernist, hence my difficulties. What am I to make of "the mistresse of the shop took us into the kitchen and there talked and used us very prettily, and took her for my wife, which I owned and her big belly, and there very merry, till my thing done, and then took coach and home, in the way tomando su mano and putting it where I used to do; which ella did suffer, but not avec tant de freedom as heretofore, I perceiving plainly she had alguns apprehensions de me but I did offer natha more then what I had often done. "? (Best not explained to the children)
In his diary Pepys gives a vivid picture of life in the second half of the 17th century. The Great Plague of 1665 and the Fire of London in the following year are extensively chronicled in the book and resonated strongly with me at our pandemic time.
Pepys is a man of many parts. We read extensively of him as a naval administrator, as a loyal courtier to, in turn, Cromwell, Charles II and James II, as a "mover and shaker" in society and as a husband (sadly not a father).
The navy was a hugely important part of English power and Pepys worked his way up through the civil service ranks to eventually become Secretary to the Admiralty. There were 23 years of war with the Dutch and later conflicts with the French who were supporting James II and his return to the English throne. Pepys signed supply contracts, administered the fleet and the dockyards and was a persistent advocate for more funding for the navy. He also spoke out against pressing, but not to the same effect. His work in this regard allowed him to generate considerable personal wealth, it being the norm to act as a paid agent and to extract payments from contractors for services rendered.
It seems that Pepys was a parliamentarian and republican. Freshly out of school he became an Exchequer clerk and attended meetings chaired by Cromwell. He worked in Cromwell's service until the Restoration, at which point it seemed apposite to serve Charles II. Pepys is clearly no great lover of the dissolute life that the monarch lived but did his job and from time to time was called to advise the King. Tomalin tells us "Pepys's position at the Navy Board meant he owed direct duty and loyalty to the King" but "he was shocked by what he heard of the swearing, drinking and whoring at court". He continued to serve the new King James II during his short reign.
Pepys' parliamentarianism came back to haunt him in later life, suffering trial and imprisonment in the blood letting that seems to be have been a feature of both the (Catholic) Restoration and the subsequent (Protestant) monarchy of William and Mary.. He had always been agnostic in religious matters and had friends and family who were Catholics and his support and friendship never wavered and later led to his being accused of being a secret Papist. It can't have been a pleasant time for him. In this respect Tomalin gives a clear picture of a hard working and loyal servant of whomever his leader was at the time.
Pepys clearly loved mixing with powerful and important people, not only in the civil service but in the arts and sciences. He was elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society and enjoyed its discourse for many years, eventually serving as President for a two year term. He became familiar with such as Isaac Newton, Christopher Wren, the chemist Robert Boyle, the economist William Petty and the polymath Robert Hooke. He read widely, made and listened to music and collected art. I think he would have had a season ticket to the Royal Opera today. Maybe even Bayreuth.
As for his personal life, he made many friends, both male and female, and enjoyed discourse and intimacy with them. He was a loving husband. I can't recall any sense of regret at being childless but it's possible that his behaviour with other women was partly a result of that.
Overall, Samuel Pepys is a complex and alluring character. He comes across as an often frustrated administrator and courtier - never quite in the top echelon of society - who lived the most amazingly busy life and made the most of his abilities. He was loyal to his friends and constant in his derision of his enemies. A likeable man? Probably not. But a formidable one.
I now know that Tomalin has written biographies of Dickens, Hardy and Jane Austen amongst others. I shall definitely be working my way through these in my nightly vigils, Claire. Thank you for bringing light into my life.
