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The Joys of Excess
As well as being the most celebrated diarist of all time, Samuel Pepys was also a hearty drinker, eater and connoisseur of epicurean delights, who indulged in every pleasure seventeenth-century London had to offer. Whether he is feasting on barrels of oysters, braces of carps, larks' tongues and copious amounts of wine, merrymaking in taverns until the early hours, attending formal dinners with lords and ladies or entertaining guests at home with his young wife, these irresistible selections from Pepys's diaries provide a frank, high- spirited and vivid picture of the joys of over-indulgence - and the side-effects afterwards.
112 pages, Paperback
Published October 25, 2011
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About the author
Samuel Pepys
985 books73 followersSamuel Pepys was an English naval administrator and Member of Parliament, who is now most famous for his diary. Although Pepys had no maritime experience, he rose by patronage, hard work and his talent for administration, to be the Chief Secretary to the Admiralty under King James II. His influence and reforms at the Admiralty were important in the early professionalization of the Royal Navy.
The detailed private diary he kept during 1660–1669 was first published in the nineteenth century, and is one of the most important primary sources for the English Restoration period. It provides a combination of personal revelation and eyewitness accounts of great events, such as the Great Plague of London, the Second Dutch War and the Great Fire of London.
His surname is usually pronounced /'pi:ps/ ('peeps').
The detailed private diary he kept during 1660–1669 was first published in the nineteenth century, and is one of the most important primary sources for the English Restoration period. It provides a combination of personal revelation and eyewitness accounts of great events, such as the Great Plague of London, the Second Dutch War and the Great Fire of London.
His surname is usually pronounced /'pi:ps/ ('peeps').
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
July 8, 2022
This shit put me to sleep every time i opened it and it’s only like 80 pages 💀
It’s a brief case study of the rich in this era, if you’re looking for something of this nature. Supposed to be a real dudes diary?
The only thing i could relate to was the constipation, so silver lining i guess
It’s a brief case study of the rich in this era, if you’re looking for something of this nature. Supposed to be a real dudes diary?
The only thing i could relate to was the constipation, so silver lining i guess
February 19, 2017
This is another volume from the Penguin Books Great Foods Series. Samuel Pepys was a noted diarist, an adminstrator for the Royal Navy, and a member of Parliment who lived from 1633 -1703. This book is a compilation of diary entries primarily focused on food and as such can be rather choppy to read. It is a celebration of Samuel Pepys’ love of food and indulgence, actually overindulgence and celebration of food to the point of gluttony. The sheer quantity of food and drink that he regularly cataloged in his diary is overwhelming, often eating to the point of vomiting and illness the next day. Even horrible historic events don’t seem to put him off his appetites. In one entry, he mentions going to see a man being drawn and quartered and stopping off at the tavern to have oysters. Other entries casually mention the plague killing hundreds, midst discussions of his meals.
Some interesting facts that popped up. He discusses being introduced to a new drink from China, tea in 1660. I didn’t know that was when tea was brought over from China. In another entry, he states that he saw his first women acting on a stage in 1661. He was also not shy about discussing his extramarital affairs or the embarrassments of his guests. He even discusses his home renovation projects. It is an interesting look into the life of a man, who happened to be a “foodie” before the word was coined. I do think the book would have benefited from the addition of a time line for those of us who have been out of school for many years and don’t remember all the historically significant events for the years of the diary.
Some interesting facts that popped up. He discusses being introduced to a new drink from China, tea in 1660. I didn’t know that was when tea was brought over from China. In another entry, he states that he saw his first women acting on a stage in 1661. He was also not shy about discussing his extramarital affairs or the embarrassments of his guests. He even discusses his home renovation projects. It is an interesting look into the life of a man, who happened to be a “foodie” before the word was coined. I do think the book would have benefited from the addition of a time line for those of us who have been out of school for many years and don’t remember all the historically significant events for the years of the diary.
November 3, 2025
Unlike the Well-Kept Kitchen in the same series, which seemed like a nicely representative selection of excerpts and had a helpful glossary of terms, this was not helpfully edited at all. The clips didn't make sense out of context, and there was no explanation of who the characters were or what was happening politically or culinarily at the time. Basically I learned that Samuel Pepys had a major drinking problem and was frenemies with William Penn's father. I should have just read the actual diaries and maybe will in future.
"So home, Mr. Hollyard being come. I had great discourse with him about my disease. He tells me again that I must eat in a morning some loosening grewell; and at night, roasted apples. That I must drink now and then ale with my wine, and eat bread and butter and honey--and rye bread if I can ensure it, it being loosening." (p. 40-41)
Apparently white locks were all the rage for ladies but Samuel was not into it. (p. 69)
"My resolution, which I tell her is never to keep a country-house, but to keep a coach and with my wife in the Saturday to go sometimes for a day to this place and then quite to another place; and there is more variety, and as little charge and no trouble, as there is in a country-house." (p. 72)
"So home, Mr. Hollyard being come. I had great discourse with him about my disease. He tells me again that I must eat in a morning some loosening grewell; and at night, roasted apples. That I must drink now and then ale with my wine, and eat bread and butter and honey--and rye bread if I can ensure it, it being loosening." (p. 40-41)
Apparently white locks were all the rage for ladies but Samuel was not into it. (p. 69)
"My resolution, which I tell her is never to keep a country-house, but to keep a coach and with my wife in the Saturday to go sometimes for a day to this place and then quite to another place; and there is more variety, and as little charge and no trouble, as there is in a country-house." (p. 72)
January 3, 2016
Samuel Pepys was a 17th century British nobleman, and one of the most prolific diarists of all time. This book is a collection of some diary entries about his meals. Whatever you think was the most food you ever ate in a day, I bet that Pepys has you beat. Many bottles of wine with supper and dinner. Huge pieces of meat and meat pies. Desserts aplenty. It's all here. He chronicles many times where he (and often his companions as well) ate and drank so much that they were sick, and the terrible hangovers that would plague him the next day.
Along with the meals, we get a sense of what else occupied Pepys' mind. He fretted about the time and cost of home improvement projects. He hung maps and pictures in his home. He had the occasional extramarital affair. He hobnobbed with prominent politicians and aristocrats. He worried about his wife's inability to get pregnant, and solicited a list of rules (do's and don't's) from his male friends. He traveled around the countryside and across London. He was worried about the plague. He went to the opera and the theater. He had quite a life.
This was a man with the means and the tastes to really enjoy his life and live it to an excess.
Along with the meals, we get a sense of what else occupied Pepys' mind. He fretted about the time and cost of home improvement projects. He hung maps and pictures in his home. He had the occasional extramarital affair. He hobnobbed with prominent politicians and aristocrats. He worried about his wife's inability to get pregnant, and solicited a list of rules (do's and don't's) from his male friends. He traveled around the countryside and across London. He was worried about the plague. He went to the opera and the theater. He had quite a life.
This was a man with the means and the tastes to really enjoy his life and live it to an excess.
March 14, 2014
A condensation of some of the passages of Pepys diaries that deal with all things "foodie."
Pepys was a hearty drinker who also loved his food just as much so within the diaries there is a wealth of entries wherein he recounts things he ate, parties and social occasions he and his wife was invited to or meals out with friends or work colleagues.
Food is obviously a very important aspect of Pepys life as this little volume shows for spends a lot of time detailing in minute description mealtimes in general.
But this is not all he recounts, he is also very honest in his analysis and if meals are not upto his specified standard he has no hesitation in expressing his disappointment and anger in his diary that his food expectations has not been met and even flies into rages and can be quite acerbic about the people he has dined with or their servants lack of culinary technique but then this is also part of the charm about Pepys, his honesty in everything he writes.
All in all a great introduction to Pepys if you are not acquainted with his writing and in itself is a little slice of history.
Pepys was a hearty drinker who also loved his food just as much so within the diaries there is a wealth of entries wherein he recounts things he ate, parties and social occasions he and his wife was invited to or meals out with friends or work colleagues.
Food is obviously a very important aspect of Pepys life as this little volume shows for spends a lot of time detailing in minute description mealtimes in general.
But this is not all he recounts, he is also very honest in his analysis and if meals are not upto his specified standard he has no hesitation in expressing his disappointment and anger in his diary that his food expectations has not been met and even flies into rages and can be quite acerbic about the people he has dined with or their servants lack of culinary technique but then this is also part of the charm about Pepys, his honesty in everything he writes.
All in all a great introduction to Pepys if you are not acquainted with his writing and in itself is a little slice of history.
February 13, 2013
A bit of a bore but interesting nonetheless since it is not everyday i can read about a 17th century man's dining and entertainment experiences.
February 1, 2018
This was a hilarious book :D
Samuel Pepys was the man.
He knew everyone, went everywhere, did everything (and everyone...at least the female everyones), and ate everything.
If there was a lobster to be found in the Greater London area, you could be sure you'd find Mr. Pepys happily eating it (or accidentally leaving it behind in a coach).
He's also quite open about his bodily fluids. All of his bodily fluids.
Not a page seemed to go by without him vomiting into some host's rosebushes! But I suppose that's to be expected if half of your diet seems to consist of seafood in the not so hygienic 1660s.
He seemed to sleep around a lot, though it was sometimes hard to tell if he was having a mere flirtation or a full blown affair with one of the many ladies he references in this little tome. His lady wife was sometimes aggrieved, and sometimes not, but then again we only have Mr. Pepys side. She might have always been aggrieved ;o)
All in all this was an eye-opening view into the life of a well-known bon-vivant of the 17th century. The language was surprisingly modern, the variety (and quantity) of food astounding, and the unabashed bodily mentions often quite funny. Highly recommended for anyone who enjoys life :)
Samuel Pepys was the man.
He knew everyone, went everywhere, did everything (and everyone...at least the female everyones), and ate everything.
If there was a lobster to be found in the Greater London area, you could be sure you'd find Mr. Pepys happily eating it (or accidentally leaving it behind in a coach).
He's also quite open about his bodily fluids. All of his bodily fluids.
Not a page seemed to go by without him vomiting into some host's rosebushes! But I suppose that's to be expected if half of your diet seems to consist of seafood in the not so hygienic 1660s.
He seemed to sleep around a lot, though it was sometimes hard to tell if he was having a mere flirtation or a full blown affair with one of the many ladies he references in this little tome. His lady wife was sometimes aggrieved, and sometimes not, but then again we only have Mr. Pepys side. She might have always been aggrieved ;o)
All in all this was an eye-opening view into the life of a well-known bon-vivant of the 17th century. The language was surprisingly modern, the variety (and quantity) of food astounding, and the unabashed bodily mentions often quite funny. Highly recommended for anyone who enjoys life :)
January 1, 2025
Entertaining. Huge respect for the amount he could eat and drink, then consequentially be sick and recover from in an evening.
Particularly loved the section about the Great Fire of London: “And in the evening Sir W Penn and I did dig another and put our wine in it, and I my parmazan cheese as well as my wine and some other things[…]”. The man knew what was worth saving.
Particularly loved the section about the Great Fire of London: “And in the evening Sir W Penn and I did dig another and put our wine in it, and I my parmazan cheese as well as my wine and some other things[…]”. The man knew what was worth saving.
September 25, 2021
How can you not love a man who cares so much for his 'parmazan cheese' that he buries it to keep it safe from the Great Fire of London?
December 8, 2021
a reheated entrée
July 23, 2023
3.5 stars
October 7, 2016
Fun little bits, but this is really lazily cobbled together. No context to a lot of it, you'll read an entry, get a cold fraction of a story, and he'll mention eating a pigeon or something, and that's the only reason it was included.
There's bits here worth exploring. But a different format would bring it to life, this is the literary equivalent of room-temperature soggy cornflakes.
There's bits here worth exploring. But a different format would bring it to life, this is the literary equivalent of room-temperature soggy cornflakes.
November 2, 2012
For most of us, Pepys diaries are a bit of a slog. Fascinating in part, slow going and endlesss in others. These excerpts give you all the flavor of life in the 17th Century, but none of that long wait between courses. I've always thought that one of the best ways to understand an individual or a people was to see what and how they eat. That really holds true in this collection of Pepys' meals.
If the idea of the full course Pepys journey is daunting, or if you've read the diary and just want to see some of the best bits again, "The Joys of Excess" is exactly right. Pepys' gossipy, adulterous little heart is revealed, we get a clear and detailed look at what people in Restoration London thought,talked about and wore, as well as what and how they ate.
Best of all that mean little courtier's wit is not sacrificed. At a dinner with friends and colleagues, the son of a rival bureaucrat imbibes a too heartily and is sent home by his embarrassed parents. The inebriated boy returns and oafishly polishes off yet another bottle. Says Pepys: "...so that Will did heartily anger his father and mother by staying. At which I and my wife were much pleased." Nicely put.
Pepys, his "dalliances" and his dinners are superb entertainment. The editing is commendable. The fascinating events of the day get full coverage, we learn quite a bit about Whitehall and the reign of Charles II and the cheery licentiousness of Old Rowley's court. All in all, this collection is a historical feast with many of the best bites from the Diaries. Enjoy.
If the idea of the full course Pepys journey is daunting, or if you've read the diary and just want to see some of the best bits again, "The Joys of Excess" is exactly right. Pepys' gossipy, adulterous little heart is revealed, we get a clear and detailed look at what people in Restoration London thought,talked about and wore, as well as what and how they ate.
Best of all that mean little courtier's wit is not sacrificed. At a dinner with friends and colleagues, the son of a rival bureaucrat imbibes a too heartily and is sent home by his embarrassed parents. The inebriated boy returns and oafishly polishes off yet another bottle. Says Pepys: "...so that Will did heartily anger his father and mother by staying. At which I and my wife were much pleased." Nicely put.
Pepys, his "dalliances" and his dinners are superb entertainment. The editing is commendable. The fascinating events of the day get full coverage, we learn quite a bit about Whitehall and the reign of Charles II and the cheery licentiousness of Old Rowley's court. All in all, this collection is a historical feast with many of the best bites from the Diaries. Enjoy.
July 26, 2015
This is an excerpt book created as a set of 20 on the theme of great food. This particular one is a collection of excerpts from Pepys' diary, and to be honest, it's very weak in its execution. The best thing about it is possibly the pretty cover. All collections have their weaker additions, and I guess this is one of them. I wouldn't buy it as an individual book, but if you're buying the set as a whole, take the hit, especially if, like me, you're getting it at a very cheap price =).
The excerpts are very scattered, and very thinly connected to food. In some it's just a case that he mentions he had his dinner. My god, a man in the past had dinner, let me read on! He seems to have recurring trouble with constipated, drinks too much and is sick now and then. Here's a nice quote: "only when I waked I found myself wet with my spewing. Thus did the day end, with joy everywhere." (p.16) Nice.
Couple of random things that make me wake up momenterialy - one bit where he has a piece of sturgeon brought up for his dinner, and it's wriggling with worms - ek! And another about a conversation with an Iron Monger in a coffee house who was complaining about the Swedes because they bring in three times as much iron, and so this guys ironworks may be lost. Just brought back memories of visiting an old ironworks in Sweden many years ago.
So, yeah, I don't think this is a good reflection on Mr Pepys, although really this is Penguin's fault. I'm still tempted to read his diaries one day.
The excerpts are very scattered, and very thinly connected to food. In some it's just a case that he mentions he had his dinner. My god, a man in the past had dinner, let me read on! He seems to have recurring trouble with constipated, drinks too much and is sick now and then. Here's a nice quote: "only when I waked I found myself wet with my spewing. Thus did the day end, with joy everywhere." (p.16) Nice.
Couple of random things that make me wake up momenterialy - one bit where he has a piece of sturgeon brought up for his dinner, and it's wriggling with worms - ek! And another about a conversation with an Iron Monger in a coffee house who was complaining about the Swedes because they bring in three times as much iron, and so this guys ironworks may be lost. Just brought back memories of visiting an old ironworks in Sweden many years ago.
So, yeah, I don't think this is a good reflection on Mr Pepys, although really this is Penguin's fault. I'm still tempted to read his diaries one day.
May 28, 2016
I'm not the biggest fan of diary books but this one was supposed to be about food. I'm also working my way through the Penguin Great Food series. I didn't find this book particularly interesting. It's short so didn't take me too long to read, but it just didn't take my fancy.
July 29, 2014
As per other review this is just extracts of his diary where food is concerned, this means a bitty and rather drab book.
November 1, 2015
Interesting idea that I think didn't work as it was simply food related excerpts from the diary of Pepys. The lack of context and continuity made it a too fragmented reading experience.
September 4, 2016
A fun selection of food-related entries taken from The Shorter Pepys.
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