A Voice for Elizabeth

I. The Search for Her Voice

Scholars, historians, writers and curious others have searched for the “voice” of Elizabeth Pepys, only to succumb to the sad realisation that none of her letters or writings exist, or, if in existence, as those die hard optimists may hope, they have yet to be found. Perhaps, like the recently discovered manuscripts of Robert Hooke, some disheveled family will finally clean out an attic, old trunk or cabinet and discover the secrets of her perspective. In the meantime, Pepysians in search of her secrets have been left to gather their “evidence” from Sam’s Diary and piece together their interpretations along with the rest of us.

Sam provides an overwhelming window into his life through his collective writings, especially in his Diary, letters and assorted correspondence. He is the subject of countless books, articles, essays and fan clubs. The comparison of the vast amount of information presented about him verses the scant whispers of information presented about Elizabeth form a sharp contrast. The search for her voice is quite frankly a dead ended lesson in frustration. Even her “biographers” can only offer us at best additional areas of scholarly debate, minimal background information into her family, but never anything more than a hint into her life before Sam. Those readers hoping to find as a “destination” the voice of Elizabeth will no doubt be disappointed, as quite honestly was I, with the limitations of this article. Those who may enjoy the journey as opposed to the destination may walk away with a few thoughts to ponder about this intriguing lady and her family.

Writers see things through their own eyes and not without their own biases. The kindly philosophical Percival Hunt, sees Sam expecting Elizabeth “to be his wife, and a housekeeper, and a companion, and wise and encouraging. Besides, she was to retire into a cloud when he had work to do, and was to know without telling when to leave him alone. She was, that is, to be all things to one man” (Hunt, p.167). Richard Ollard’s interpretation is that Elizabeth “consistently shows in the Diary an attractive and unselfish readiness to enter into her husband’s interests and to offer him her untutored natural abilities and tastes to shape and direct.” (Ollard, p.123)…. She “had no power, no resources no friends. Her raison d’etre was to please him. She could make herself disagreeable, but that was all. He held all the cards; money, freedom, social opportunity, and played them for himself. Increasingly this meant that the world he lived in grew apart from hers.” (Ollard, p.127)”.

A less sympathetic view of Elizabeth includes Bryant description of a young Elizabeth as a totally unsuitable partner for Sam, calling her “a pale little chit of a foreign beauty who could bring him nothing but trouble,” (Bryant, p.26) and flatly stating that “the plain fact remained that she was somewhat of a fool.” (Bryant, p.28). Robert Lewis Stevenson, who abounds with admiration for Sam reduces Elizabeth simply to “vulgar”.

At the end of the day, these “learned interpretations” all draw their views from the same place and space that we gather to read each day, Sam’s Diary. In order to broaden our view of Elizabeth, who has no voice of her own, perhaps we can gain a better understanding of her through understanding her family life prior to Sam. For this, we need to turn towards the one other person who knew her dearly, has written about her and offered hints as to her life before the Diary. That would be her brother Balty.

II. A Letter from Balty

One of the more famous family letters that is referenced in abundance by Pepysians is a letter that Balty wrote to Sam long after the Diary had come to a close. The background to this letter will help us to weave through its deliberately misleading intent and yet, perhaps reveal the upheaval and instability that Elizabeth knew and called home.

In order to get to her past, we need to jump ahead into the future. Throughout Charles II’s reign, a political plot worked against James, the Duke of York and a number of other Papists in high places (including Queen Catherine). The plot(s) were intended to discredit Catholics who were close to the King, with the hope to gain control of the succession of the Crown. In 1678, these clandestine plans would prove “personal” (Heath, p.xiii) and involve Sam, with the hopes to reflect poorly upon his patron, James, the Duke of York. This activity was part of the overall Popish Plots. During this time, the murder of Sir Edmund Berry Godfrey, a well know Protestant magistrate, opened a huge opportunity for the conspirators to blame the Papists for his death. Helen Heath explains that the original plan may have been to implicate Pepys in the murder of Godfrey. Luckily, Sam was away at the time of the murder so the conspirators went after his clerk, Samuel Atkins. The evidence proved so false that the boy was released, but as a follow up a Colonel John Scott invented evidence against Sam to lead to his arrest on the charges of piracy, popery and treachery. Among the many charges was the one leading to Balty’s letter, which stated that Sam had “secretly turned to the Catholic Church, had hidden crucifixes in his home, [and] had consorted with Catholics” (Heath, p.xiv).

Sam, now in prison, had a desperate need to clear his name, which involved the need for “spy” work be done in France in order to discredit and prove his accuser a liar. To his credit, and, most likely to the amazement of many Diary readers, Balty rose magnificently to the occasion and herein proved his greatest service to Sam. In spite of all his flaws and failures he went to France to pursue ” a sort of double life between the wealthy merchants of Pepys acquaintance, on the one hand, and the rogues and vagabonds who consort with the nefarious Colonel Scott on the other” (Heath, p.xxv).

In addition, Balty penned the following letter to Sam, with the intent of “proving” that the charge of Popery in his home was false and misleading. Although the readers of the Diary will all know that Elizabeth had a leaning towards Catholicism, the letter provides us with the only other known “glimpse” into the family life of the St. Michel’s, and therefore holds some of the only other “hints” at Elizabeth’s life prior to the Diary. This letter is not without controversy, yet it forms the basis that many historians have drawn from to describe her life prior to Sam. Sam’s biographers (Chappell, Bryant, Tomilin) and Elizabeth’s biographers (Chappell, Delaforce) all reference this letter, albeit, sometimes drawing conflicting perspectives. Tomalin does “warn” us that Balty “wrote it down with the specific intention of proving that his sister was a staunch Protestant, whereas it is clear from Pepys’s own account that the Catholic faith never lost its hold on her; when, for instance, he bought a mass book for himself in 1660 and sat up late reading it, it gave “great pleasure to my wife to hear that that she long ago was so well acquainted with” (Tomalin, p.55).

In addition to the Catholicism issue, the letter causes debate on other grounds as Elizabeth’s birthplace is brought into question. Balty will note in this letter that “Devonsheire at a Place Caled Bidiford, where, and thereabouts my sister and wee all ware borne” while Edwin Chappell, a noted 19th century Pepysian scholar, will point out that “the inscription on her monument in St. Olave’s Church, Hart Street, E.C., in which is stated that Somerset gave her cradle” (Chappell, p.33). Writing for the 1932 Somerset Year-Book, Chapell’s article explores the birthplace debate from all angles and finally asks “may I request that all baptismal registers [in every Somerset parish] for 23rd October, 1640, be inspected, and this interesting point might be definitely settled?” (Chappell, p.34). It’s not clear that this mystery has been conclusively solved to date either.

Another interesting point of debate has to do with the parentage of Elizabeth’s mother Dorethea. Marjorie Astin’s biography of Elizabeth, which differs on this point from all others (discussed in II and IV), states that Dorethea was the “daughter of Lavinia and Matthew Penneford of Gort, and widow of Thomas Fleetwood. She was closely connected with the Kingsmills, a family of considerable worth and consequence, who had resided at Basingstoke, Hants, from the twelfth to sixteenth century; they had received a grant from the Royal Mill there, from which they derived their name.” (Astin, p.10). Perhaps it is best to put these “details of debate” into the broader perspective, where through this letter we will see that the results infer that Elizabeth had a “curious childhood, full of poverty and unrest, for her father was often abroad earning his bread as a soldier.” (Astin, p.12).

Helen Heath, who edited Pepys’ family letters, reminds us in the background information on Balty that “it is to be noted that life in Balty’s eyes is never matter-of-fact. Every wind is a hurricane, every mishap a near-catastrophe, every hardship a hell” (Heath, p.xxiv). She also sums up this famous letter (Letter #21 of the collection) saying, “Perhaps the most noteworthy and most informative letter from St. Michel is Letter 21, in which is vividly sketched the family background from which he [Balty] and his sister, Pepys’s wife, have emerged. Here is depicted as delightfully erratic a family as anyone could wish to choose a wife from” (Heath, p.xxiv). We must always remember that no matter how erratic the family and their situation, they were still HER family, and no doubt Elizabeth loved them all and remained devoted to them throughout her life. Tomalin tells us (Tomalin, p.210) that “The deepest bond in her life may well have been with her brother, Balty; it was reciprocal, and each is shown looking out for each other in the pages of the Diary.” Balty’s letter, from the Heath edition (Heath, p.25-28), includes Sam’s notation and is printed in full below.

III. Balty’s Letter to Sam as presented in The Letters of Samuel Pepys and his Family Circle edited by Helen Truesdell Heath

Endorsement of Samuel Pepys

“Brother Balty’s letter to mee giveing an account of the Fortune of his Family, perticulerly done for the cleareing the imputation layd on mee in Parliament of my turning his Sister from a Protestant to a Catholique, S.P.”

Deale, the 8th February 1673/4

Honoured Sir

In answer to yours of last night which received this morning at 8 of the Clock: I wonder indeed that you, whoose life and Conversation, hath bine ever knowne to be a Ferme Protestant, shoold now be Caled in question of being a papist; but Sir Malice and Envey will still oppress the best of Men; wherefore Sir to the hazard of my life i will proove (if Occasion be) with my sworde in my hand (since it hath touched soe neare of the memory of my Dear sister) that your Competitor is a false lier in his throught, as to your haveing Eather an Alter in your House, or that my Dear sister Ever since shee had the Honour to be your wife, or to her Death had the least thoughts of Popery, this I know, by my not only often Conversation with her my selfe, but in my Presence on time, i remember, shee haveing some discourse with my Father, conserning your life and Conversation, as well as Fortunes, this was his speech with her, that amongst the Greatest of Happinesses hee injoyed in his minde, was that shee had by matching with you, not only wedded wisdome, but allsoe one whoe by it, hee hoped in Christ, would quite bloute out, those Foolish, Phopish thoughts, shee might in her more tender yeares have had of Popery, theese (to the Best of my memory) ware his very words; to which her reply was (Kissing his Eyes, which shee loved dearly) dear Father said shee, though in my tender yeares, I was, by my low Fortune in this world deluded by popery by the Fonde-didly thereof; I have now a man to my husbande soe wise, and one so religious in the Protestant religion (Joyned with my riper yeares which gives me more understanding) to Ever suffer my thought to bende that way any more.

But Sir, I have given you two much truble with one thinge; Now to what you desir as to the Knoledge how, and when, the Popish Fancis ware first put in my Poore Dear Sisters head; which (to the best of my memory) in Every Pointe I shall declare to you. First my Father, Sonn to the High-Shreeve of Boge (in Anjou in France) a Papist and all his Famely, in which religion, allsoe my Father was bread, and continued in, till hee was 21 yeares, at which time (hee being then in the German service) turned Protestant, and without trubling you with the rest of his life there, till hee returned to France, I shall only say that hee did soe;where hee Found his Father Dead, haven given all hee had (heering of my Fathers being turned a Hugenot as hee termed it) in mariage with his Daughter (my Fathers only sister) soe that my Father, being disinherited of all for his religion-sake, had nothing lefte but his sword and Freindes, to preferr him in the world (though an Uncle of my Fathers a Chanoine of Parris whoe loved [him] soe well, that hee promised to make him his Aire and Give him 200 000 livres Tournois which is about 20 000