Listen free for 30 days

Listen with offer

Preview
  • Samuel Pepys

  • The Unequalled Self
  • By: Claire Tomalin
  • Narrated by: Jill Balcon
  • Length: 6 hrs and 22 mins
  • 4.4 out of 5 stars (126 ratings)

£0.00 for first 30 days

Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Samuel Pepys

By: Claire Tomalin
Narrated by: Jill Balcon
Try for £0.00

£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Buy Now for £12.99

Buy Now for £12.99

Pay using card ending in
By completing your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and authorise Audible to charge your designated card or any other card on file. Please see our Privacy Notice, Cookies Notice and Interest-based Ads Notice.

Summary

Samuel Pepys kept a diary in which he wrote with astonishing candour about the life he saw around him in London in the 1660s, and about his private desires and ambitions. The diary was kept for fewer than 10 years of his long life: Claire Tomalin tells the whole story of the Fleet Street tailor's son who made himself rich and powerful, an MP and adviser to royalty. She also traces his relations with many women, from countesses to servant girls, in a biography that is funny, moving, and as candid as Pepys himself.
©2002 Claire Tomalin (P)2002 Penguin Audio
activate_Holiday_promo_in_buybox_DT_T2

Listeners also enjoyed...

The Diary of Samuel Pepys cover art
The Diary of Samuel Pepys: Volume I: 1660 - 1663 cover art
The Life of Samuel Johnson cover art
Erotic Vagrancy cover art
Great and Horrible News cover art
Journal of the Plague Year cover art
Confessions cover art
Victorian London cover art
Alan Bennett: Diaries cover art
I, Claudius (Dramatised) cover art
Jonathan Swift: His Life and His World cover art
Victoria & Abdul (Movie Tie-in) cover art
Bertie: A Life of Edward VII cover art
The Favourite cover art
The Duchess cover art
Lady Bette and the Murder of Mr Thynn cover art

Critic reviews

"Tomalin not only brings him back to vibrant life, but makes a powerful case that he's more central, more 'relevant' than we ever imagined....She has restored to us the whole Pepys." ( The New York Times Book Review)
"Our greatest diarist, analyzed by one of our greatest biographers. Tomalin's flawless research and trademark empathy with her subjects should make this portrait of one of the most fascinating characters of 17th-century England the best biography of the autumn." ( Sunday Times [London])"Tomalin writes brilliant chapters on all aspects of Pepys's life, relying not only on the diary but also on impressive scholarship....For those who have already enjoyed the diary, Tomalin's learned and entertaining work admirably fills in the gaps." ( Publishers Weekly)

What listeners say about Samuel Pepys

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    81
  • 4 Stars
    27
  • 3 Stars
    8
  • 2 Stars
    9
  • 1 Stars
    1
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    70
  • 4 Stars
    17
  • 3 Stars
    2
  • 2 Stars
    1
  • 1 Stars
    1
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    70
  • 4 Stars
    14
  • 3 Stars
    4
  • 2 Stars
    2
  • 1 Stars
    1

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

beautifully read and wonderfully written

a lovely, well-paced skim through the life of a truly extraordinary historical figure, hero and rogue

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

What an extraodinary, ordinary man!

Tomalin writes so engagingly about her fascinating subject. She has clearly undertaken mammoth amounts of research. I wanted to hear this book after reading 'Restoration' by Rose Tremain. I do wonder if Tremain based her fictional protagonist on Mr Pepys. I highly recommend both books.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

A book club choice, unexpectedly enjoyed this

Would you listen to Samuel Pepys again? Why?

Yes, and furthermore, Claire tomalin made this difficult diary come to life

Who was your favorite character and why?

Samuel Pepys

Have you listened to any of Jill Balcon’s other performances? How does this one compare?

Not sure if I have listened to Jill balcon before

Did you have an emotional reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Not an emotional reaction but very pleased that I read this

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Faye missing link.

A must listen for anyone familiar with Pepys diary.This book fills in all the gaps within the diary,it gives explanation to questions posed throughout the diary.excellent narration and an compelling listen.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

Very interesting

I really enjoyed this book. It moved along at a much more spanking rate than Tomalin's other recent biography on Charles Dickens (perhaps as there is less material available to the biographer?), so was quite gripping. But another man I found I didn't like much! Tomalin does give herself away this time in her admiration of him, less impartial in her view. Jill Balcon has a lovely measured 'posh' way of speaking, This is pitched perfectly at some points, like when describing in graphic detail the procedure of having ones kidney stones removed by 1600's method without anaesthetic! Think her dulcit tones where the only thing that got me through that passage!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Wonderful

Having enjoyed this so much I’m now ready to plough into the diaries themselves. A wonderful insight into the man, and read so beautifully by Jill Bacon. Loved every minute of it.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Brilliant

I have been reading Pepys Diary and Clair Tomalin's biography enhances my enjöyment of the diary and fills in other parts of his life in all its humanity. A brilliant biography of a brilliant man, well read by Jill Balcon.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Essential reading before you read the diaries.

I strongly suggest that anyone planning to read Pepys's diaries should first read this excellent biography. And I highly recommend the audiobook version of the diaries as well.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Wonderfully entertaining

A wonderful story of a fascinating period of history seen through the eyes of the great diarist. Jill Balcon reads this book superbly and her tone is perfectly matched
Superb

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Fantastic

Great narration of a fascinating life. Tomalin is a great writer, well researched and very interesting. Would recommend.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!