Brief Lives (First Person Singular) - Softcover

Aubrey, John; Barber, Richard

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1843831120 ISBN 13: 9781843831129

Publisher: Boydell Press, 2004

Synopsis

Unusual book

About this title

Synopsis:

John Aubrey's racy portraits of the great figures of 17th-century England stand alongside Pepys' diary as a vivid evocation of the period. Aubrey was born in 1626, the son of a Wiltshire squire; at the age of 26 he inherited a family estate encumbered with debt, and finally went bankrupt in the 1670s. From then on he led a sociable, rootless existence at the houses of friends - from Oxford and the Middle Temple -pursuing the antiquarian studies which had always obsessed him. At his death in 1697, he left a mass of notes and manuscripts, among them the material for "Brief Lives". He never managed to put even a single life into logical order; all we have are the raw materials, scribbled down - 'tumultuously as they occurred to my thoughts'. With this full, modern English edition, which reproduces Aubrey's words as closely as possible, Richard Barber introduces us to Aubrey and his world, tells how the "Lives" came into being and enables many new readers to enjoy this eccentric masterpiece.

About the Author:

Richard Barber has published widely on medieval history. The Knight and Chivalry won the 1971 Somerset Maugham Award. His other major interest is historical biography with books on Henry Plantagenet and the Black Prince. His most recent book is Edward III and the Triumph of England: The Battle of Cr cy and the Order of the Garter.

About this edition

• Publisher: Boydell Press
• Publication date: 2004
• ISBN 10: 1843831120
• ISBN 13: 9781843831129
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 336
• Editor: Barber Richard