An inquisitive set of essays uncovering the treasures of the Pepys Library and its idiosyncratic owner.

Samuel Pepys’s famous library, a remarkable collection of over 3,000 items and a rare surviving example of a private 17th century library, was willed by Pepys to Magdalene College, Cambridge. This celebratory volume has been edited by the Pepys Librarian and President of Magdalene College, Dr M.E.J. Hughes, in tribute to her predecessor Dr Richard Luckett (Pepys Librarian 1982-2012).

This insightful text features contributions from eminent scholars, including Professor Sir Jonathan Bate, Professor Helen Cooper, Dr Hester Lees-Jeffries and Professor James Raven, focusing on items housed in the Pepys Library and on the illuminating narrative of how the collection was conceived and developed by its idiosyncratic owner.