Samuel Pepys

Biography

<p>Samuel Pepys (1633-1703) was a naval administrator, member of Parliament and devoted diarist. Kept between 1660–1669 and written in Shelton's shorthand, Pepys's diary recorded major historical events, like the Plague of 1665 and the Great Fire of London, alongside his more personal concerns and activities, including politics, his work in public life and rows with his wife, Elizabeth.</p><p>Max Hastings is the author of twenty-six books, most about conflict. He served as Editor-in-Chief of the Daily Telegraph between 1986 and 2000, then Editor of the Evening Standard. He has won many prizes both for journalism and his books, of which the most recent are Chastise and Vietnam, bestsellers translated around the world. He is a fellow of the Royal Society of Literature, an Honorary Fellow of King’s College, London and was knighted in 2002. He has two grown-up children, Charlotte and Harry, and lives with his wife Penny in West Berkshire, where they garden enthusiastically.</p>