A quick round-up of news and queries from my inbox…
Rafael was wondering where he could see an example of the shorthand Pepys used, based on Shelton’s. If anyone has any thoughts, ideally but not exclusively online, then please post below.
Roger noticed the BBC has a drama about Charles II coming up: “Four-part drama about King Charles II with Rufus Sewell and Rupert Graves.”
He also points out that Claire Tomalin’s Pepys biography is short-listed for the BBC Four Samuel Jonhson Prize for Non-fiction. Her book is profiled on the digital-only UK TV channel on Wednesday 4th June at 7.50pm (sorry for the short notice!), with an hour long show about all contenders on Friday at 8.30pm.
Finally, I noticed that Tomalin has won another award, the Samuel Pepys Award, given by the Pepys Club to a book that makes the greatest contribution to the understanding of Pepys. The Guardian called it “a candidate for the least surprising award result in history.”
7 Comments
First Reading
Philip • Link
Claire Tomalin's book includes a full-page plate of the first page of the diary, "...as he wrote it, showing the mixture of shorthand and longhand and the beautifully clear shaping and spacing."
vincent • Link
There is a copy of the last entry of diary(may 31 1669) in Geoffrey Trease book 'Samuel Pepys and his world' published 1972 Well illustrated for a non technical treatise: There is also shorthand sample for year 1680 of the (in)famous escape told to Peapis at Newmarket (near? Six Mile Bottom ?).
also Sheltons " A Tutor tachygraphy' page 15 ; on page 44 for sept/ 25/ 60 is a translation by Joseph Smith (1819-22)
also in Claire Tomalin's book, page 349,last sheet, the first page transcription, the orig. on page 252 sh2
Roger Miller • Link
The BBC FOUR Samuel Johnson Prize went to T.J. Binyon, for his biography of Pushkin.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbcfour/book…
Dave Brown • Link
I saw an example of the shorthand (sadly not online) in the Public Records Office museum at Kew. It is part of a small case of Pepys material available to visitors to the PRO. They may change the material - so probably best to check before visiting. I think that this has been previously mentioned somewhere else on this site.
Grahamt • Link
Pepys on BBC2:
Thursdays at 8:30 pm, Adam Hart-Davis is presenting "What did the Stuarts do for us?" The latest in the series "What did the Romans/Victorians/Tudors..." so you know what to expect.
Tonight He talked about scientific advances in dyeing and pen design. Enter our Sam using one of the first fountain pens and Adam Hart-Davis apparently using a quill to write using the same shorthand as Pepys.
For details of further programmes, see: http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/prog…
Today's programme was "Desygner Livinge" (sic)
Glyn • Link
Grahamt's link is a treasury of good sites. For instance, if you go there and follow the links to:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/hist…
and look to the "BBCi" links on the right of the page, you get sent to a BBC interview with Phil; and then if you click on one of "External Web Links" (The Diary of Samuel Pepys) you get a link to this website!
vincent • Link
Grahamt and Glyn thanks for the trip in to ...ether