The Plot Against Pepys
by James Long and Ben Long
Faber & Faber, HK$280
In 1679, Samuel Pepys was at the height of his powers. A celebrated intellectual and member of parliament, he had also until recently been one of the most senior civil servants in the Admiralty. He was admired by King Charles II and close to Charles' brother and successor to the throne, James, Duke of York.
But on May 22 that year his world came crashing around him. He was forced to embark on a legal marathon that started with incarceration in the Tower of London and would soon threaten not just his freedom, but his life. Pepys was thrown into the centre of a political storm that swept through England and would claim the lives of many innocent Catholics.
James and Ben Long tell the fascinating story of a two-year period, when Pepys' life and the future of the British throne hung in the balance.