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John Aubrey: My Own Life
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'Light, ingenious, inspiring, a book to reread and cherish' Hilary Mantel
'A delight...the book I would take with me to a desert island' David Aaronovitch
I was born about sun rising in my maternal grandfather’s bedchamber on 12th March 1626. St. Gregory’s Day, very sickly, likely to die.
John Aubrey loved England. From an early age, he saw his England slipping away and, aga ...more
'A delight...the book I would take with me to a desert island' David Aaronovitch
I was born about sun rising in my maternal grandfather’s bedchamber on 12th March 1626. St. Gregory’s Day, very sickly, likely to die.
John Aubrey loved England. From an early age, he saw his England slipping away and, aga ...more
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Start your review of John Aubrey: My Own Life
A clever idea - to write a biography of John Aubrey as an imagined autobiographical diary. It generally works well although there are a number of tedious sections where Aubrey is involved in extended, frustrated attempts to get his various works published.
Aubrey is a fascinating 17th century polymath - a historian, an archeologist, a collector of antiquities, a biographical writer, a mathematician, a scientist. A friend and colleague to all the great minds of the period - Newton, Wren, Hooke, Bo ...more
Aubrey is a fascinating 17th century polymath - a historian, an archeologist, a collector of antiquities, a biographical writer, a mathematician, a scientist. A friend and colleague to all the great minds of the period - Newton, Wren, Hooke, Bo ...more
Deceptively light and easy to read, but I found this book stuck with me. I didn't read it all at once, instead dipping in and out, enjoying the glimpse into daily life in another age. Even better are "Aubrey's" alternating tones: amusing and gossipy, earnest and engaged. He's the most wonderful social nerd, and great fun to spend time with. I'm still picking it up, months later, for a page or two's amusement and edification.
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Book will seem you are immersed in Aubrey 's life A seemingly original hipster.
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A phenomenal work. Ruth Scurr innovates on the subjects original biographical sketch style by transforming Aubrey's notes and available information into a personal journal. She has written an autobiography on his behalf, that she (and I) hopes Aubrey would love. From what I learned of John Aubrey through the book, I would imagine he would appreciate it very much. We learn of Aubrey's battling priorities, successes and disappointments, and the intellectual community he helped create.
I came away w ...more
I came away w ...more
Despite the avalanche of positive reviews this book has receive, I'm sorry to say that I found it distinctly underwhelming.
This will immediately open me up to charges of being too "trad" and genre-defined, and it's true that I find slippage between genres disconcerting. But my problems with this book are more fundamental than where to place it on my bookshelves.
Ruth Scurr has done an ingenious work in taking Aubrey's writings and moulding them into a chronology that resembles, but clearly isn't, ...more
This will immediately open me up to charges of being too "trad" and genre-defined, and it's true that I find slippage between genres disconcerting. But my problems with this book are more fundamental than where to place it on my bookshelves.
Ruth Scurr has done an ingenious work in taking Aubrey's writings and moulding them into a chronology that resembles, but clearly isn't, ...more
An excellent achievement, original in conception, convincing in execution - a kind of reconstructed autobiography from a dauntingly chaotic array of manuscripts that gives an intriguing new perspective on the much-covered intellectual circles of mid- to late-17th century Oxford and London. It's a perspective firmly from the sidelines, written by a bit player, a kind of hanger-on.
And that's why only four stars. It's fascinating for people interested in the period, and novel-like enough to be wort ...more
And that's why only four stars. It's fascinating for people interested in the period, and novel-like enough to be wort ...more
Marvellous. I first read a collection of Aubrey's Brief Lives after seeing the magnificent performance by Roy Dotrice in the one man Garland play in the late sixties. I had been dipping into them again recently while waiting for the paperback edition of this wonderful biography. Above all, it gives a real sense of what it must have been like to be living in the seventeenth century. At least on a par with Tomalin's biography of Pepys.
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Not as engrossing as I'd hoped, given the reviews, although the frustration I felt with John Aubrey is some reflection with how close you get to the man.
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The conceit of this book -- that Scurr take Aubrey's writings and letters and arrange them like a diary, filling in the gaps herself (and I guess with other people's diaries as well?, which I gather from another reviewer but didn't realize myself when reading it) -- both works and doesn't. It works in that it makes a coherent (though necessarily gap-filled) picture out of both Aburey's life and the life of 17th century England, at least for a certain stratum of society; I think it does a fantast
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Biography as autobiography! I discovered Aubrey through reading about Virginia Woolf's childhood. Apparently the Victorians did much to restore Aubrey's eminence as an antiquarian, archaeologist, biographer and historian of English miscellany of the 17th century. The young Virginia devoured Aubrey's Brief Lives, and so, I thought, should I. Which led me to Scurr's biography of Aubrey, and the discovery of a character so enthusiastic about his world and preserving the knowledge of his friends and
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A creative and charming reimagining of biography. The voice of Aubrey is relentlessly curious, and as someone obsessed with creating and especially recording and preserving knowledge, he takes an extraordinary long view of history even in the midst of the chaos of his own period (he lived through the execution of Charles I, the interregnum, the Restoration, and then the 'Glorious Revolution,' the coup that replaced Catholic James I with William of Orange and Mary). And yet he's very human; he's
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Ruth Scurr uses 17th century antiquarian John Aubrey's own words to create an "autobiography" for him in an unusual and very clever form of biography. It plunges you into the world of a man who was interested in everything from neolithic monuments to geology to ancient manuscripts to scientific experiments to astrology and gives a fascinating insight into the thought world of the 17th century where new scientific theories and superstition co-existed. Aubrey, best known now for his Brief Lives wh
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A delight. A biography in the voice of Aubrey himself, fashioned out of manuscript fragments ordered chronologically as a journal. We experience seventeenth century England from the inside: seeing how tumultuous events are viewed by those not directly involved; and tracing the vicissitudes of a man often left near destitution. Despite this Aubrey still continued in his single-minded devotion to British antiquities, and consorted with greats like Wren and Boyle at the fledgling Royal Society. Fan
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An important book to better understand English life in the tumultuous 17th century, Aubrey himself saw his fortunes rise and fall several times over. A clever way to knit his biography from what scraps he left behind, this quasi-memoir is enjoyable for the light it sheds on both Aubrey's inner self and his relationships with several historical figures. (Sidenote: reading about the very first coffee shop to open in London was a particular treat).
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If you enjoy historical diaries this is a good one, covering much of 17th century England. And a lot happens - Civil War, execution of the King, restoration of the monarchy, establishment of the Royal Society, various plagues, comets, the great fire of London... fascinating history woven through with everyday events.
great biography of the 1600's scholar john Aubrey. Aubrey passion for learning fills the pages of this diary format biography with his love for antiquity and the preservation of knowledge.
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Expert scrapbook of quotes from Aubrey.
Loved it, except for the section of brief bios.
The Pleasure of Obscure Things
In Ruth Scurr’s extra-ordinary biography of 17th Century antiquarian, polymath and biographer John Aubrey she takes the bold step to invent a diary for him, albeit one based upon scrupulous research. Each entry is referenced to the source archive, showing how Scurr has built up this portrait based purely upon the available evidence. In a fascinating introduction she details her methodology - an essential read for anyone engaged in the field, or interested in life-w ...more
In Ruth Scurr’s extra-ordinary biography of 17th Century antiquarian, polymath and biographer John Aubrey she takes the bold step to invent a diary for him, albeit one based upon scrupulous research. Each entry is referenced to the source archive, showing how Scurr has built up this portrait based purely upon the available evidence. In a fascinating introduction she details her methodology - an essential read for anyone engaged in the field, or interested in life-w ...more
John Aubrey is brought to life in this unusual and fascinating biography, in which Ruth Scurr has cleverly used Aubrey's own words and fashioned them into a diary format. His life spans a period of extreme turmoil with the execution of Charles I, the Civil War, Restoration and Popish plot being just some of the events in the background. Although much affected by these events, as all were, Aubrey has an overriding mission - perhaps even obsession - to record what is being lost, whether it be anci
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When this book popped up on a few Best Reads of the Year lists for 2015 I knew it was a must have for me. My 1972 Penguin edition of Aubrey's Brief Lives has fallen apart because I've read it so many times. As Ruth Scurr explains, any conventional biography of Aubrey would result in his being lost among the luminaries with whom he shared the England of the Civil Wars and Restoration - men like Newton, Hobbes, Hooke, Boyle, Wren, Harvey etc. whose contributions to the scientific revolution are ce
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This is a lively and fascinating account of a late 17th century life, a life lived through frighteningly uncertain and turbulent times, politically and religiously. It is an 'experimental biography' of a man who has been called the father of modern biography - though he did so much else beside, much of which was not recognised and valued until centuries after his death.
Ruth Scurr writes:
"Instead of forcing lives into conventional books, it is possible to find a form - or invent one - to suit th ...more
Ruth Scurr writes:
"Instead of forcing lives into conventional books, it is possible to find a form - or invent one - to suit th ...more
‘My Own Life’ is an imaginary diary reconstructed from the great 17th century antiquarian’s scattered writings and remains. This would not be unusual for a work of historical fiction, but this book aims to be a serious biography.
The great advantage of the approach, in Aubrey’s case, is that it allows the countless disjointed observations that he made in manuscripts and letters and notebooks to directly illuminate his life, which is otherwise lacking in material. What could have obscured Aubrey, ...more
The great advantage of the approach, in Aubrey’s case, is that it allows the countless disjointed observations that he made in manuscripts and letters and notebooks to directly illuminate his life, which is otherwise lacking in material. What could have obscured Aubrey, ...more
Dec 19, 2016
Adrian
added it
Scurr wanted to write a biography of Aubrey the renowned 17th century English historian/collector but found there wasn't enough material for a conventional book. So she created this diary which covers his 70 year life. It's ingenious. Aubrey's deep interest in science, architecture, natural history, and historical monuments comes alive. He was a proud member of the Royal Society and met all the big names of science of the day. Hooke, Boyle, Newton, Harvey, Wren and many more are all in here. He
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John Aubrey's Brief Lives is an invaluable source of information about the key personalities of the seventeenth century. Like Pepys and Evelyn, he was a witness to major historical events and friend of many of the movers and shakers of the period, observer of the Civil War, the plague and the great fire, and at the centre of intellectual life in the scientific revolution of the period. Unlike Pepys and Evelyn, though, he did not keep a diary. That has now been rectified by Ruth Scurr, who in a f
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Any biography of John Aubrey would be welcome, and Scurr's "autobiography," shrewdly culled from Aubrey's notoriously miscellaneous writings, is probably, barring the unlikely discovery of some relevant primary source, as good a "life" as can ever be written of this marvelous scribbling magpie. Even at its best, however, it offers but a faint impression of the unique, cranky and irresistible personality that shines through every page of Aubrey's masterpiece, "Brief Lives." There's a long and irr
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I loved this. The best biography of Aubrey that I've read. The diary format is unusual (as he didn't write a diary) but effective, I think, and rather charming.
Aubrey is a fascinating man, interested in everything, and living though a lot of upheaval (the Civil War, the Glorious Revolution) and a time when astrology was still as well-respected as astronomy. Of course it's his antiquarianism that most appeals to me; he was the first person (who didn't live there) to 'notice' Avebury and consider ...more
Aubrey is a fascinating man, interested in everything, and living though a lot of upheaval (the Civil War, the Glorious Revolution) and a time when astrology was still as well-respected as astronomy. Of course it's his antiquarianism that most appeals to me; he was the first person (who didn't live there) to 'notice' Avebury and consider ...more
Liked this book and greatly admire the author's skill in producing a readable life of Aubrey. After this I felt I had a clearer picture both of Aubrey's social context and the breadth of his curiosity about the world - present and past, human, animal and mineral. Tiny niggle: despite Scurr's remarkably clever stitching-together of Aubrey's scattered words, the authorial voice somehow lost something of the man himself for me, seeming more faint and subdued. I can't explain this, or analyse. It's
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Can't fault this biography/diary of Wiltshire's John Aubrey, it's a game-changer. I am awestruck by the thought of all the papers and writings left unprinted and unbound by John Aubrey that Ruth Scurr must have studied in order to write this imagined diary for him. That the result is so readable and interesting is even more amazing. For a look at life during the most momentous times of the 17th century you couldn't do better than read this.
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John Aubrey lived through a time of war and beheadings and yet you end up feeling the same way he did: that the most exciting event is the realization of just how old Stone Henge might be, or that the details of the lives of the people he knew were more significant than they themselves realized. I still dip into this book whenever I want to unchain my mind from the emotional trap of today's news.
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Dr Ruth Scurr (born 1971, London) is a British writer, historian and literary critic. She is a Fellow of Gonville & Caius College, Cambridge. She was educated at St Bernard's Convent, Slough; Oxford University, Cambridge University and the Ecole Normale Supérieure, Paris. She won a British Academy Postdoctoral Fellowship in 2000.
Her first book, Fatal Purity: Robespierre and the French Revolution ( ...more
Her first book, Fatal Purity: Robespierre and the French Revolution ( ...more
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