His diary is one of the most entertaining historical sources I&#x27;ve ever read so I&#x27;m not at all surprised that Stephenson found a way to work it in. (One part of the diary that I remember thinking felt like a novel was when he rushes to bury his prized Italian olive oil in his backyard during the Great Fire of London.)<p>The whole thing&#x27;s online and cross-referenced here by the way, highly recommended:<p><a href="http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.pepysdiary.com&#x2F;" rel="nofollow">http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.pepysdiary.com&#x2F;</a>