Duc de Saint-Simon vs. Samuel Pepys fite

I've never read the Duc, but Pepys is glorious. I recommend reading a page or two last thing in the evening, which was when he wrote the entries. The best diary ever.

I agree with R the V. Pepys is quite excellent as a last read in the evening. Of course, some nights are filled with juicier bits than others ;)

Pepys' glory in adultery recounted in the 'dirty' language of France ("Je l'ai foutue sous la chaise deux fois...") is good old dirty fun. The catty gossip of Saint-Simon written in that limpid 17th/18th century French is delightful. His remarks on the court of the Regent remind me of Rochefoucauld without his ponderousness. Pepys is surely the better diarist of daily life but Saint-Simon is the better gossip columnist.

Is an abridged Pepys necessary? Abridgements always make me feel so wussy. But I've been wanting to dip into Pepys for years.

Casuistry, after wonderful evenings of wading through the depths of the full series by (one of several editors) Robert Latham, I've recently purchased the abridged version by the same editor. It may be a good start, to continue on to, the full series of Pepys' diaries.

Even the "Shorter" Pepys is a masssive book. I'd advise that over the whole thing, actually.

I'm thinking of ordering the first volume of the Pepys Diary (ed. by R. Latham, University of California Press). So is that the way to go then? I admit to being intimidated, but also fascinated by the idea of hopefully making it through all ten volumes someday. Perhaps an abridgement makes more sense, but somehow the idea seems less inspiring...

The Latham version is the only one that I know that is unexpurgated, and I don't think there's an abridged version of that, so the full set is definitely the way to go (it doesn't, however, provide translations of any of Pepys attempts at Latin, Greek, French, Italian, Spanish, or the weird mix he used when discussing his sex life; there's at least one web site I've found that provides translations of the juicier bits, but I didn't bookmark it, so you'll have to search). I've read through the first four volumes, and am currently taking a break before forging on. It is a fascinating view of life at the time, and it's interesting to see how Pepys' personality changes and he becomes more forward in his descriptions as he becomes more settled in his work and more confident. Plus you get all that juicy gossip about Charles II.

i was surprised that i started this thread.

i have not read any more, of either.