The Life World Of Pepys

Samuel Pepys was an officer who mainly lived in the time of the Restoration.His diary between 1660 and 1669 holds a remarkable position in early modern England history.The diary also has great impacts in both literature and history fields.Pepys once was the Chief Secretary of the Admiralty,the President of the Royal Society,and the Member of Parliament.He was born in a tailor's family,while he finally entered the upper middle class with the help of some influential persons and his own endeavor.He was highly valued by Charles II and James II.Pepys succeeded in reforming the Admiralty and performed calmly at the Great Fire of London.After the Glorious Revolution,he was forced to retire because of the suspicion of the Jacobitism.Pepys' living time was from the English Civil Wars,the Restoration,and the Glorious Revolution.His diary occupy the first ten years of the Restoration.These years reflect Pepys' progress in position and wealth.He enhanced his ability through tackling with some major events such as the Great Plague and the Great Fire in London.His diary is not only a portrait of a private life,but also reference to rebuild the public space of London at that time.Pepys seldom concealed his real opinion in the diary,so he was honest to his immorality,as well as the quality of some powerful people.Therefore,it is worth to research the upper middle class' values with Pepys' diary.England traditional social relation appeared again in the Restoration period,to some extent.However,the pragmatic Puritanism flourished.People could find through Pepys' diary that he was a secular person.His customs affected by Charles II,“Merry Monarch”.Some England social tendency could be drawn from this aspect.