The Diary of Samuel Pepys

In the previous year England met with two catastrophes: the plague and the Dutch war. This year will be added a new disaster in the form of the Great London Fire.

Pepys starts out the year with a musical gathering in the company of Mrs. Knepp (or Knipp), a well-known actress and singer. Pepys will speak with Mrs. Knepp much in the Diary of his infatuation and will frequently seek out her company. Pepys’s wife at first does not know of her husband’s spending time in the company of other women since the meetings typically happen in the context of business socializing; however, later on she will come to suspect these meetings and raise objections. Knepp and Pepys exchange a series of letters signed “Barbary Allen” (after the Scottish song “Barbara Allen”) and “Dapper Dicky.”

When recounting his amorous encounters, Pepys typically writes in a sort of code in which he mixes English with French and Spanish words. An example is found on Page 471: “[W]e did send for a pair of old shoes for Mrs. Lowther, and there I did pull the others off and put them on, elle being peu shy, but do speak con mighty kindness to me that she would desire me pour su mari if it were to be done” (471).