Pepys!

Reading journals is almost like listening to another person’s thoughts. Reading the diary of Samuel Pepys is especially interesting because he lived during the 1600s. When reading his journal it is almost like you have a friend from another time, who wants to share everything about his life with you. This is great information to have now because with it we can compare what life was like in the 1600s, to what life is like today.
After reading a month from Pepys’ diary (July 1664), I realized that Pepys’ life was pretty similar to the life of someone today. His life basically revolved around his work. Almost all of his time was spent at work, being with people he worked with, or finishing up some work at home. When he had some free time he did activities that we still do today. On Wednesday, July 6th 1664, Pepys spent some time sailing and playing cards with some friends. Another time he just spent some time walking and talking with his wife. (He did this on Sunday July 3rd – this day there was a lot of thunder and lightening.) He also enjoyed reading. Some of the books that he read were: Sir H. Spillman’s “Whole Glossary”; “Scapula’s Lexicon”; Shakespeare’s plays, and the works of Chaucer.
Another advantage of reading Pepys’ diary is that you don’t just get the historical facts of that time. One thing that I found very interesting was his process of getting his books bound. On Friday July 8th Pepys went to the book binder to get his Chaucer rebound and then to the clasp maker to get it clasped and bossed. It is also fun to hear some of the inner thoughts of someone who lived during that time. Once, Pepys got angry and fought with his wife over a pair of expensive earring that she had bought. He made her have her chambermaid take the earrings back to the stock exchange, (or as Pepys called it, “The ‘Change”) to get the money back. He then went out and stopped the chambermaid and let his wife have the earrings. He was just happy that has won the argument.
So one should read Pepy’s because it lets you have a first hand account from someone who lived long ago. You learn more than the facts, and you get to see what the people experienced, and how they felt during events. It is also always interesting to know what a person is thinking. However I do not think someone should just read Pepys to learn about the time period of the 1600s. Pepys should be read alongside of a legitimate historical text of some sort.