Whose diary provides a view of 17th-century life and was published in the 19th century?

Whose diary provides a view of 17th-century life and was published in the 19th century?

• A. Edmund Spenser
• B. Miguel de Cervantes
• C. Samuel Pepys
• D. John Donne

Answer: (C)

Diaries can give a vivid, day-by-day sense of how people lived in a past era. Samuel Pepys kept a detailed diary in the 1660s, describing life in London—from daily routines, meals, and social leisure to work at the Navy Board and big events like the plague and the Great Fire. That first-hand, personal record offers a rare glimpse into everyday 17th-century life. It wasn’t widely available to readers until the 19th century, when editors published his entries, bringing this intimate view to a broader audience. The other figures are renowned writers of earlier periods, not known for a diary that functions as a broad view of daily life in a specific century.

Diaries can give a vivid, day-by-day sense of how people lived in a past era. Samuel Pepys kept a detailed diary in the 1660s, describing life in London—from daily routines, meals, and social leisure to work at the Navy Board and big events like the plague and the Great Fire. That first-hand, personal record offers a rare glimpse into everyday 17th-century life. It wasn’t widely available to readers until the 19th century, when editors published his entries, bringing this intimate view to a broader audience. The other figures are renowned writers of earlier periods, not known for a diary that functions as a broad view of daily life in a specific century.