the great fire of london samuel pepys diary

Again, Pepys is able to compartmentalize what is happening to others and what is happening in his own life. A combination of lack of available food and lack of available help has resulted in a rather boring and characterless evening meal, devoid of condiments, or dressings of any kind, and the table it was served on looked less inviting than usual. The Great Fire provokes a similar narcissistic reaction nervous as he is about the fire getting ever closer to Seething Lane, and saddened as he is to see many of the landmarks in the City destroyed and razed to the ground, he is equally concerned about the effect the mass exodus from the burning City is having on his culinary arrangements. What if it came from someone who had died of plague? Could this still be communicable? Many of the entries in his Diary, if made today, would come with the hashtag #richmanproblems. Although he wrote about the way in which the City had changed - boarded up homes, floral wreaths on almost every door, deserted streets - he was also preoccupied by the source of the hair that was used in his many wigs. Pepys journals that he actually enjoyed one of the best years of his life during this time. There are many entries in the Diary that are reminiscent of Marie Antoinette's famous 'let them eat cake' comment Pepys just cannot empathize with the ordinary man in the street.

Although the major events impacting the City are all included in the Diary, and in some cases, only known to historians precisely because they are included in his eyewitness history, they are seen predominantly of a man who was narcissistic enough to see every life-changing City-wide experience only as it affected him personally. In many ways, the Diary that Pepys kept is more a book of ironies than a document about the City of London during his years there. We are thankful for their contributions and encourage you to make your own. These notes were contributed by members of the GradeSaver community.

The great fire of london samuel pepys diary