NZ Academic Unlocks 17th Century Secrets

Research by a NZ academic launched a 40-year code-breaking endeavour that has resulted in the publication of an important 17th century English diary. Robin Gwynn, formerly an associate professor of history at Massey University, came across Roger Morrice’s Entring Book as a doctoral student in London in the 1960s. At that stage, the vast diary was relatively unknown and had never been edited. It was written by a political insider and journalist between 1677 and 1691. “It was a decade of fear, a most unpleasant time. I’m glad I didn’t live through it,” said Gwynn of the period, which included the death of Charles II and the 1688 revolution. Gwynn’s code-cracking (much of the diary was written in obscure shorthand) and painstaking translation, with the help of professors at Cambridge and Brown universities, led to its six-book publication in July this year.