The Latest Breaking News from Samuel Pepys

Author warns lessons of Great Fire of London are being ignored today

THE outbreak of wildfires in Scotland and across Europe this summer struck a nerve with novelist Jack Jewers – whose latest historical crime novel takes place after the Great Fire of London in 1666.

The National (Scotland) · Oct 25

OPINION - London was warned about the Great Fire of 1666 — this summer is a wake-up call

As Britain faces record-breaking summer heat, historical novelist Jack Jewers reflects on the ignored warnings before the Great Fire of London in 1666—and why history is repeating itself

Evening Standard · Sep 1

Guide to the classics: Margaret Cavendish’s The Blazing World pioneered speculative fiction, 400 years ago

The Blazing World is a testament to how far the written novel has travelled in the past 400 years. A literary time capsule, it holds within it the origins of a genre we now call speculative fiction.

The Conversation · May 27

Samuel Pepys' old school wants to ban house named after him over his 'abuse' of women

The former school of a famed 17th century diarist has proposed scrapping a house named after him over accusations abuse and exploitation of women.

Evening Standard · Dec 2, 2025

The Confessions of Samuel Pepys by Guy de la Bédoyère review – journal of a predator

Newly decoded extracts expose the celebrated 17th-century diarist and naval administrator as a rapacious abuser

The Guardian - UK · Aug 4, 2025

English warship sunk in 1703 storm gives up its secrets three centuries on

Archaeologists in race to study HMS Northumberland as shifting sands expose part of well-preserved wreck

The Guardian - UK · Jul 31, 2025

I’ve never kept a diary. But if I had, I’d want it destroyed when I die

From Samuel Pepys to Joan Didion, many literary greats wrote for no one but themselves – then found posterity pawing through their secrets. Trust me: you don’t want to know my innermost thoughts

The Guardian - UK · Apr 27, 2025

Muskets, chain mail and medieval laundry: behind the boom in historical re-enactment

Do you fancy a weekend sword fight or touring a castle dressed as a laundress? Volunteers devoted to ‘living history’ events explain their enduring appeal

The Guardian - UK · Nov 11, 2024

Samuel Pepys: diarist, administrator … budding fashionista

New analysis of 17th-century diarist’s French fashion engravings shows he was not only a shrewd political operator but had a keen eye for new trends

The Guardian - UK · Jul 21, 2024

Stephen Cox obituary

Other lives: Former director-general of the Commonwealth Institute and executive secretary of the Royal Society under four presidents

The Guardian - UK · Mar 24, 2024