A shrewd and tireless observer of the human scene, Pepys in his immortal Diary chronicled not only the world-shaking events im which he was concerned, but also the numberless domestic turmoils, petty intrigues, adventures and temptations. The first of the great civil servants, the originality and significance of his work for the Navy, for example, bear witness to the fact that he was a remarkable and much more important man that is generally realised. He was also a very human man, of contradictory character, his purposefulness struggling with his doubts and fumblings, his amorous nature with his cautions...