Samuel Pepys is the astonishing biography by bestselling author Claire Tomalin 2002 Whitbread Book of the Year. Immaculately well done. Tomalin has managed to unearth a wealth of material about the uncharted life of Samuel Pepys". (Craig Brown Mail on Sunday). " Sex drink plague fire music marital conflict the fall of kings corruption & courage in public life wars navies public execution incarceration in the Tower: Samuel Pepys' life is full of irresistible material & Claire Tomalin seizes it with both hands. Fast vivid accessible". (Hermione Lee Guardian). "A rich thoughtful & deeply satisfying account. It takes us behind & beyond the diary
- which means that on finishing it we can reread the diary with greater pleasure & understanding then ever before". (Noel Malcolm Evening Standard). " In Claire Tomalin Pepys has found the biographer he deserves. Her perceptive level-headed book finally restores to the life of the diarist its weight & dignity". (Lisa Jardine New Statesman). "A great achievement & a huge pleasure. A vivid chronicle of contemporary history seen through the all too human preoccupations of this ordinary & extraordinary man". (Diana Souhami Independent). From the acclaimed author of Charles Dickens: A Life & The Invisible Woman this celebrated biography casts new light on the remarkable diaries of Pepys & brings his story vividly to life once more. Claire Tomalin is the award-winning author of eight highly acclaimed biographies including: The Life & Death of Mary Wollstonecraft; Shelley & His World; Katherine Mansfield: A Secret Life; The Invisible Woman: The Story of Nelly Ternan & Charles Dickens; Mrs Jordan's Profession; Jane Austen: A Life; Samuel Pepys: The Unequalled Self; Thomas Hardy: The Time-Torn Man & most recently Charles Dickens: A Life. A former literary editor of the New Statesman & the Sunday Times she is married to the playwright & novelist Michael Frayn."