Samuel Pepys. The Saviour of the Navy

by Arthur Bryant

In this final volume in his three-volume history of the life and career of Samuel Pepys, originally published in 1935, esteemed historian Arthur Bryant records Pepys's life from 1683 to 1689, when he resigned as MP for Harwich and Secretary of the Admiralty. Bryant draws on Pepys' unpublished manuscripts and notes from the Admiralty to illuminate these important years, when he was King's Secretary for the Admiralty under Charles II and James II. This book will be of value to anyone with an interest in Pepys or Restoration politics.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Biography

Hardcover

First published October 1, 1985

About the author

Sir Arthur Wynne Morgan Bryant was an English historian, columnist for The Illustrated London News and man of affairs. His books included studies of Samuel Pepys, accounts of English eighteenth- and nineteenth-century history, and a life of George V.

Bryant's historiography was often based on an English romantic exceptionalism drawn from his nostalgia for an idealised agrarian past. He hated modern commercial and financial capitalism, he emphasised duty over rights, and he equated democracy with the consent of "fools" and "knaves"

Reviews

[Rupert Matthews · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating stuff, but rather heavy going. If you want to learn about Pepys or about the early days of the Royal Navy then this is the book for you. But it is not a gentle book to while away the long hours by the side of a pool when on holiday. It is a book to sit down with and concentrate on - preferably while taking notes.

[Rob Markley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Obscure historical tale in some ways. However at the same time valuable because of what it draws out about society and political reality of the era, and at the same time curious as to what this adds to the Pepys diaries?

[Roger Thomas · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not as good as some of the other books of Delaney that I have read, but still entertaining. It was well researched and interesting.