Product Description

Sometimes overshadowed by his friend and contemporary, Samuel Pepys, Evelyn is the other great English diarist. He was a scholar, a scientific amateur, a garden designer and architect, and a founder member of the Royal Society who published a magisterial book about trees, Sylva, and many pamphlets on assorted subjects. His great interest as a diarist is that he was privy to all the great men and events of his very long life, from the execution of Charles I to the accession of Queen Anne, whereas Pepys writes of a relatively short period. A personal friend of Charles II, he observed at close quarters- and with some disapproval - that monarch's amorous life, and the diaries contain vivid portraits of Nell Gwynn, other royal mistresses and their children. The personalities of James II, the Dukes of Monmouth and Marlborough, and Judge Jeffreys, also figure largely. But this is more than a social record. As a valued administrator, Evelyn was also involved with many serious projects, such as combating the Plague, and rebuilding London after the Great Fire - an enterprise which brought him close to Christopher Wren. In all, a vivid portrait of the social, personal and political life of a society in ferment by one of its major players.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #62846 in Books
• Published on: 2006-01-27
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 1050 pages

From the Publisher
Introduced by Sir Roy Strong. The Everyman edition of John Evelyn’s Diary is published to coincide with the tercentenary of Evelyn’s death in 1706. There is no other edition currently in print.

About the Author
The introduction is written by Sir Roy Strong, formerly Director of the Victoria and Albert Museum, he is the author of many books about art history and gardens.

Customer Reviews

17th Century genius
At the time I am writing this I have this particular copy of the diary in my possesion at my side, and what can I say about it? just fantastic, a remarkable portait of life under King Charles I, Charles II, James II, William III and Mary II and Queen Anne
in all five monarchs that represented a turning point in English History, a break away from the old secular medieval order and into the age of oppulence and full steam towards the industrial revolution and Empire, Evelyn unlike Pepys lets us in on so much of the 17th Century, whereas pepys diary only lets us in on just
10 years (though it should not be forgotten 10 important ones, but it is not his diary i am reviewing)Outside of the absolute full diary this is perhaps
the fullest and covers two volumes and 832 pages, something is lost in any selection but to concentrate on that thought is to miss the the beauty and vigour of this wonderfull book, buy it now it is worth more than any other 17th Century history book.

Historical Treasure Trove, yes; easily readable, no!
The introduction to this book warned me - it is not as immediately readable as Pepys, with less personal material or description of the diarist's feelings. But given that this diary was written for all to see, as opposed to Pepys' who encoded his diary, this is understandable. What Evelyn's diary does wellis fill in a lot about the viewpoints and detailed history of the Seventeenth century in England. It has a comprehensive time-line at the front, and a useful mini-bio of the main characters at the end.