On 25th October, 1668, Elizabeth Pepys walked in on her maid and her husband – the inveterate restoration shagger Samuel Pepys – in a position so compromising that Samuel himself could only bear to describe it using a mixture of French and Latin.

And even though Pepys charted a period that included the Great Fire of London, wars, plagues and the triumphant return of Charles II, this unfortunate episode is one of the most compelling parts of his famous diary.

In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly discuss the fallout from the unfortunate clinch; wonder why going to church seemed to be such a turn-on for the celebrated diarist; and detail how Pepys came to kiss the mummified remains of a dead queen...

CONTENT WARNING: descriptions of sexual abuse, rape

Further Reading:

• 'Dear Diary, another day, another grope: Pepys and his women' (The Times, 2015): https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/dear-diary-another-day-another-grope-pepys-and-his-women-qwttz5tch3n 

• 'The Illustrated Pepys' (University of California Press, 1983): https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/The_Illustrated_Pepys/TC7bKxaolDMC?hl=en&gbpv=0 

• 'Putting Samuel Pepys on the couch' (Prospect Magazine, 2016): https://www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/magazine/samuel-pepys-on-the-couch-psychoanalysis 

• ‘The Diary of Samuel Pepys – read by Kenneth Branagh’ (Hodder Headline Limited, 2008): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u_7qxymcn2A 

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The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.

Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.

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