The 1660s represent a turning point in English history and for all the main events - the Restoration, the Dutch War, the Great Plague and the Fire of London - Pepys provides definitive eyewitness descriptions. Unequalled for its frankness, high spirits and sharp observations, his diary is a slice of 17th-century life and an acknowledged literary masterpiece. It is crammed with Pepys's socializing, his amorous entanglements, his theatre-going and music-making, but also includes details of his work at the Navy Board and the official journey to bring Charles II back from The Hague. This edition contains about a third of the original text.