The Lost Diary of Samuel Pepys

In preparation for the release of the highly anticipated Seething Lane we’d recommend catching up with the author’s precursor which is now available in paperback. The importance of Samuel Pepys’ [1633 – 1703] diary as a historical document [which details a decade in the life of London from the vantage point of a civil servant in the court of King Charles II] cannot be underestimated. Jewers provides imaginative context [by penning an exciting fictional adventure] with Samuel Pepys as the main protagonist conjecturing if the infamous diarist had continued scribbling in his notebook, rather than halting after a decade.

The novel opens with ‘Sam’ Pepys becoming separated from his wife Elisabeth when she discovers [and decodes] his concealed diaries. Their marriage was fraught as it oscillated between strong bonds of love, and angry annoyances due to the diarist’s amorous [and lurid] encounters with prostitutes.  Elisabeth leaves their East London home to stay with relatives in Devon. Pepys is devastated. Thankfully his work at the Navy Board keeps his mind from the emptiness he feels following his wife’s departure. England has emerged from the English Civil War, financially crippled. War with Holland appears imminent. The King has sent his representative Sir George Downing to Amsterdam on a diplomatic mission to avert a conflict that England cannot afford, nor win with the royal coffers depleted.

The Duke of Albemarle despatches Samuel Pepys and his loyal assistant Will Hewer to Portsmouth to investigate financial irregularities with the Prince Rupert. The English Naval Board had previously sent Elias Thorne to meet with the Governor of Portsmouth [John Maynard] in order to bottom out why so much money has gone missing in refitting the battleship Prince Rupert.      

The Naval Agent, Elias Thorne is found murdered in a dangerous Portsmouth backstreet, and his body sexually desecrated. The dead man had left notes and numbers indicating serious fraud of the Naval coffers; at a time that England could ill afford with a War with the Dutch on the horizon.

Staying in the Four Feathers hostelry, Sam Pepys and Will Hewer begin their investigation into the naval embezzlement which may be related to the horrific murder of Elias Thorne.

The stage is set for a violent and enthralling murder mystery [and detective adventure], in which neither Pepys nor Hewer dare trust any of the other characters that surround them. Goody Brown and Tamsin Lacey who work at the Four Feathers offer whispered rumours as does the handicapped sailor Tom Wilkin [who sailed on the Prince Rupert]. Another murder with a sexual motive is that of barmaid Piety Brown, which may [or may not] be connected to the investigation.

There are some sections that are tough to read, such as a medical operation on Pepys’ groin, carried out without anaesthetic by Dr Grey. Will Hewer and the physician’s surgery assistants tether Pepys to a table, and place a wooden stick in the diarist’s mouth – while Dr Grey makes deep incisions into his groin. It’s a section that requires an accompanying drink to calm the reader’s nerves.

There is pathos as well as several amusing asides, as ‘Sam’ Pepys and Will Hewer battle henchmen trying to obstruct their investigation. Though they gain a powerful ally in the shape of the mysterious Charlotte de Vere [with her bodyguard, the ex-pirate ‘Belle’] and ‘Captain’ Jack Gale as their investigation involves sailing covertly to Holland and confronting powerful and dark figures who could benefit from a war with the Dutch.

Rarely has historical fiction become as thrilling as this opening volume of the adventures of Samuel Pepys. The author provokes deep-thought with judiciously researched period detail striated into a truly ‘edge-of-the-seat’ narrative.

With Seething Lane’s imminent release, this Lost Diary of Samuel Pepys is essential packing for the summer escape [or downloading the Gareth Armstrong narrated audiobook].

Wonderful.