The Diary of Samuel Pepys, M.A., F.R.S.; Clerk of the Acts and Secretary to the Admiralty; Transcribed by the late Rev. Mynors Bright, M.A. from the shorthand manuscript in the Pepysian Library, Magdalene College, Cambridge

London: G. bell and Sons, Ltd, 1952. Third printing of the Thin Paper Edition. Hardcover. Good. Format is approximately 5.25 inches by 7.25 inches. 3 Book Set (Book I includes Volumes I-III, 1659-1663, lix, [1], 371, [1] pages); Book II includes Volumes IV-VI, 1664-1667, [2], 385, [1] pages; and Book III includes Volumes VII-VIII, 1667-1669, Index. [4], 514 pages. Footnotes. Some board weakness and some cover wear and soiling noted. This edition was first published in 10 volumes between 1893 and 1899. It was reissued in 8 volumes in 1904. The thin paper edition was first issued in 1946. Samuel Pepys FRS (23 February 1633 - 26 May 1703) was an administrator of the navy of England and Member of Parliament who is most famous for the diary he kept for a decade while still a relatively young man. Pepys rose to be the Chief Secretary to the Admiralty under both King Charles II and King James II through patronage, hard work, and his talent for administration. His influence and reforms at the Admiralty were important in the early professionalization of the Royal Navy. The detailed private diary that Pepys kept from 1660 until 1669 was first published in the 19th century and is one of the most important primary sources for the English Restoration period. It provides a combination of personal revelation and eyewitness accounts of great events, such as the Great Plague of London, the Second Dutch War, and the Great Fire of London. On 1 January 1660 ("1 January 1659/1660" in contemporary terms), Pepys began to keep a diary. He recorded his daily life for almost ten years. This record of a decade of Pepys' life is more than a million words long and is often regarded as Britain's most celebrated diary. Pepys has been called the greatest diarist of all time due to his frankness in writing concerning his own weaknesses and the accuracy with which he records events of daily British life and major events in the 17th century. Pepys wrote about the contemporary court and theatre (including his affairs with the actresses), his household, and major political and social occurrences.