All episodes of HistoryExtra podcast

HistoryExtra podcast · 2025-10-07 · 35 min · 6,326 words

The dark side of Samuel Pepys

Listen to the original audio · Transcribed with NVIDIA Parakeet · Timestamps stay in sync with the live audio

Welcome to the History Extra podcast, fascinating historical conversations from the makers of BBC History magazine. Samuel Peeps is well known for his brilliantly evocative diary, which gives an unsurpassed insight into daily life in Restoration London. However, it seems that Peeps also had a dark side. Something that's been overlooked or ignored in his diaries for centuries is that Peeps was a self-confessed sexual predator and an abuser of women. Biographer Guy de la Beddoyère explains all to David Musgrove.

Today I am delighted to be joined by Guy de la Bedouer, who is a Roman historian by trade, but also maintains a keen interest in the diarist Samuel Peeps, the famous 17th-century diarist Samuel Peeps. So Guy, welcome back to the podcast. How are you? Very well, thank you. Nice to see you, Dave.

Yeah, and you. Okay, so Peeps. Here's a few things about Peeps. He was a great diarist. He was corrupt, he was a domestic abuser, he was a groomer, he was a groper, he was a serial adulterer, he was a rapist.

That is the first couple of minutes. The rest is $1.49.

We already have this episode, so unlocking it is cheap and permanent: the full transcript (35 minutes, 6,326 words), segment and word-level timestamps, and .txt, .srt, .vtt and word-level JSON downloads, as many times as you like, forever.

No account needed, we create one from your checkout email. With credits it is 1 credit; packs start at 5 episodes for $3.49, and monthly plans are cheaper still.

get it now

Ready in under two minutes.

pay once · credits never expire

monthly · cheapest per episode · cancel any time

One episode is up to 4 hours of audio; a longer one counts as one more for every started 4 hours. Secure checkout by Stripe. Paying once needs no account: we create one from your email. By paying you agree to the terms.