Samuel Pepys
Personal Information
Description
Samuel Pepys was born on February 23rd 1633 in Salisbury Court off Fleet Street. His father, John, was a tailor, his mother Margaret Kite was sister of a Whitechapel butcher and Samuel was fifth in a line of eleven children. His knowledge of shorthand, his political connections through Montagu (now Earl of Sandwich and First Lord of the Admiralty, having brought the King back from exile), and his subsequent government posts as one of the principal officers of the navy administration, gave him power and moderate wealth. His love of order and efficiency made him a man of some importance and he proudly and successfully addressed the Commons on naval matters. His [speech to the Commons on March 5th 1668]pleased him enormously. For us he is best known for his less than ten years of personal diaries, at once personal and historic, characterful and literary. ([Edited from pepys.info].) :
Books
Diary ..
The diary of Philip Henslowe, owner of the Rose Theatre in London during the 1590s, remains the most valuable source of information about the workings of the Elizabethan public theatres. Discussions of theatres and drama in the age of Shakespeare routinely refer to Henslowe, whose 'diary' touches on every aspect of the day-to-day operations of the Rose and the companies of actors, especially the Admiral's Men. The diary preserves the account-book of an Elizabethan theatre owner who was also the father-in-law of the leading actor, Edward Alleyn, and contains many miscellaneous and personal entries. The first edition of Henslowe's Diary, published in 1961, has long been out of print. It provides a thorough introduction to the manuscript, a full transcription of the document itself and several helpful appendices and indexes. For this second edition one of the original editors, R. A. Foakes, has added a new preface and reading list.