Brief Lives (Penguin Classics)
Brief Lives by John Aubrey, published by Penguin Classics on November 1, 2000, is a comprehensive collection of biographical sketches that showcases a diverse array of figures from Elizabethan and Stuart England. Spanning 528 pages, this edition presents Aubrey’s deft and picturesque prose, capturing the lives of notable statesmen, poets, philosophers, and scientists, including Walter Raleigh, Francis Bacon, and William Shakespeare, alongside lesser-known yet equally intriguing individuals. The work offers a vivid glimpse into the tumultuous political, scientific, and moral revolutions of the time.
Readers will find that Aubrey’s anecdotal and gossipy style brings to life the complexities of human nature and the intimate, sometimes scandalous details of his subjects’ lives. This collection not only serves as a historical account but also reflects the variety of experiences during a transformative period in Great Britain. As an antiquarian, Aubrey originally compiled these sketches as source material for his friend Anthony Wood’s histories of Oxford University. This edition is noted for its fidelity to the original text, making Brief Lives a significant contribution to the art of biography.
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With deft, picturesque prose, Aubrey presents biographical sketches for an intriguing and colorful parade of statesmen, poets, philosophers, and scientists, including Walter Raleigh, Francis Bacon, William Shakespeare, John Milton, Thomas Hobbes, and Rene Descartes, as well as a host of lesser known but equally fascinating figures. This anecdotal, gossipy collection brings to life the tumultuous world of Elizabethan and Stuart England and its revolutions in politics, science and morality. At the same time, Aubrey revels in the sheer variety of human nature and in the detailed, intimate, and sometimes scandalous aspects of his subjects’ lives. An antiquarian, Aubrey began his collection as source material for his friend Anthony Wood’s histories of Oxford University. In this new edition, more faithful to the original text than previous versions, Brief Lives emerges as a revolution in the art of English biography, a mixture of entertainment and erudition, and a lively portrait of an age.
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